Posts and Activities:

Most members of parliament are involved in various official and non-official bodies in Westminster, according to their areas of interest. These enable MPs to mix beyond their political parties, keep up to speed with new developments and provide an opportunity for interest groups and non-governmental associations to lobby MPs for support.

Select Committees

I serve on the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) Select Committee. The Committee holds the Secretary of State for DEFRA (currently Margaret Beckett MP) accountable for her department's activities, which cover a huge range of policy areas, from farming and fisheries to biodiversity and climate change via pollution and waste disposal. Select committees mainly carry out their business by initiating inquiries into subjects which are within their topical remit. Current inquiries this session include the reform of the European Union sugar regime, issues surrounding avian influenza and the forthcoming Animal Welfare Bill. The DEFRA select committee is composed of 8 Labour MPs, 4 Conservative MPs and 2 Liberal Democrat MPs

As a country boy at heart, I find it is sometimes easy for ministers, locked up in their offices in Whitehall, to overlook the needs and interests of farmers and people living in the countryside. Issues like genetically modified foods, agriculture, animal health and the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) all have a great impact on the lives of people throughout the UK. A lack of adequate government response was largely responsible for the terrible consequences of BSE and foot and mouth disease that affected the lives and livelihoods of people across the country just a few years ago. The recent ban on hunting is another example of urban government misunderstanding the interests and habits of the countryside.

All Party Parliamentary Groups

All-party parliamentary groups (APPGs) may not be official or scrutinising in their functions in the way that select committees are, but as informal gatherings, they play an important role in bringing together MPs across the political spectrum to discuss a broad range of issues. They are also an excellent vehicle for third parties or interest groups to lobby members of parliament through their registered interests in a certain topic.

I am an officer in the following all-party groups:

• Vice Chair of the All Party National Parks Group.
• Vice Chair of the All Party Children in Wales Group.
• Vice Chair of the All Party Horse Group.
• Vice Chair of the All Party British Council Group.
• Vice Chair of the All Party Conservation and Wildlife Group.
• Treasurer of the All Party Mountain Rescue and Search Teams Group.
• Treasurer of the All Party Steel and Metal Group.

I am a member of a number of all-party groups but the meetings I attend most frequently are:

• APPG on Conservation and Wildlife
• APPG on Park Homes
• APPG on Beer
• APPG on Pharmacies

Parliamentary Armed Forces Scheme

Every year, the MOD arranges for a group of MPs to take part in the parliamentary armed forces scheme. Under the scheme, 21 MPs are chosen to team up with sections of the navy, army, RAF and Royal Marines over a one-year period when they actively take part in manoeuvres and other front-line activities for a total of three weeks during the year.

Before becoming an MP, I was hesitant about the role of the military in today’s modern, non-interventionist societies. Scandals like the Deepcut affair had also left me slightly sceptical about the army’s ability to take care of its young staff and carry out operations in a humane way.

The military has an important presence in Brecon and Radnorshire, a brigade of Gurkhas is permanently stationed in Brecon and the Eppynt military training ground provides facilities for infantry training (pretty much every soldier in the British Army will have spent some very wet and cold days on the Eppynt range!). The barracks in Brecon are the headquarters for 160 Brigade Wales, the administrative headquarters for the Army in Wales and Derring Lines provides training for all junior and senior non-commissioned officers in the British Army. A recent development will mean that all young officers graduating from Sandhurst will do their final training based in Derring Lines and the Eppynt.

Because of this strong military presence, I felt it was important for me to have a firm understanding and practical knowledge of the issues at stake. When I heard about the parliamentary scheme, I took the opportunity to learn more about the army from the inside before making my mind up. I applied in January 2003 and I was successfully seconded to the armed forces for a year.

The experience has been hugely rewarding. Not only have I seen with my own eyes the immense duty of care with which the army trains their new recruits, I’ve also been able to experience at first hand the legendary professionalism with which the British troops carry out their duty abroad.

Most visits of the parliamentary scheme were made to army bases or training grounds around the UK, including the prestigious Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, where the sons of sultans and princes from all over the world join new recruits in training to become officers.

Other visits included the opportunity to travel to Brunei, where we shadowed a company of Ghurkhas in training in the jungle and to Afghanistan, where we accompanied British troupes stationed in theatre, in war zones in Kabul and in Mazar-e-Sharif, in the North of the country. I was especially struck whilst in Afghanistan by the difference in approach to peacekeeping between the American and British forces. The American troops patrolled in armoured vehicles, dark glasses, visors and aggressive displays of weapons whilst the British troops, clearly gaining from their experience in Northern Ireland, went out on foot without helmets and interacted with the local people, gaining their trust and sympathy.

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