Election 2010 Coalition Government : Defence

The Government believes that we need to take action to safeguard our national security at home and abroad. We also recognise that we need to do much more to ensure that our Armed Forces have the support they need, and that veterans and their families are treated with the dignity that they deserve.

* We will maintain Britain’s nuclear deterrent, and have agreed that the renewal of Trident should be scrutinised to ensure value for money. Liberal Democrats will continue to make the case for alternatives. We will immediately play a strong role in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference, and press for continued progress on multilateral disarmament.

* We will aim to reduce Ministry of Defence running costs by at least 25%.

* We will work to rebuild the Military Covenant by:

– ensuring that Service personnel’s rest and recuperation leave can be maximised;

– changing the rules so that Service personnel only have to register once on the Service register;

– exploring the potential for including Service children as part of our proposals for a pupil premium;

– providing university and further education scholarships for the children of Servicemen and women who have been killed on active duty since 1990;

– providing support for ex-Service personnel to study at university,

– creating a new programme, ‘Troops for Teachers’, to recruit ex-Service personnel into the teaching profession;

– providing extra support for veteran mental health needs; and

– reviewing the rules governing the awarding of medals.

* We will double the operational allowance for Armed Forces personnel serving in Afghanistan, and include Armed Forces pay in our plans for a fair pay review.

* We will ensure that injured personnel are treated in dedicated military wards.

* We will look at whether there is scope to refurbish Armed Forces’ accommodation from efficiencies within the Ministry of Defence.

* We will support defence jobs through exports that are used for legitimate purposes, not internal repression, and will work for a full international ban on cluster munitions.

Full Conservative and Liberal Democrat Coalition Government Agreement

Election 2010 Coalition Government : Banking

Election 2010 Coalition Government : Business

Election 2010 Coalition Government : Civil Liberties

Election 2010 Coalition Government : Communities and Local Government

Election 2010 Coalition Government : Consumer Protection

Election 2010 Coalition Government : Crime and Policing

Election 2010 Coalition Government : Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport

Election 2010 Coalition Government : Defence

Election 2010 Coalition Government : Deficit Reduction

Election 2010 Coalition Government : Energy and Climate Change

Election 2010 Coalition Government : Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Election 2010 Coalition Government : Equalities

Election 2010 Coalition Government : Europe

Election 2010 Coalition Government : Families and Children

Election 2010 Coalition Government : Foreign Affairs

Election 2010 Coalition Government : Government Transparency

Election 2010 Coalition Government : Immigration

Election 2010 Coalition Government : International Development

Election 2010 Coalition Government : Jobs and Welfare

Election 2010 Coalition Government : Justice

Election 2010 Coalition Government : National Security

Election 2010 Coalition Government : NHS

Election 2010 Coalition Government : Pensions and Older People

Election 2010 Coalition Government : Political Reform

Election 2010 Coalition Government : Public Health

Election 2010 Coalition Government : Schools

Election 2010 Coalition Government : Social Action

Election 2010 Coalition Government : Social Care and Disability

Election 2010 Coalition Government : Taxation

Election 2010 Coalition Government : Transport

Election 2010 Coalition Government : Universities and Further Education

The Coalition: our programme for government © Crown copyright 2010