North Wales Assembly Member Mark Isherwood has challenged the Welsh Government this week over its support for veterans and called for people in Wales who have served in the Armed Forces to receive the same recognition and representation as their colleagues in England and Scotland.
Responding as Shadow Minister for Communities and Local Government to the Statement in the Welsh Parliament yesterday by the Deputy Minister for Housing and Local Government: ‘Marking Remembrance Day and supporting our Armed Forces Community’, Mr Isherwood highlighted some of the problems facing Veterans in Wales and questioned the Deputy Minister over Welsh Government funding for veterans services, including Veterans NHS Wales.
He said:
“SSAFA have said of the 15,000 men and women leaving the armed forces each year, it's expected that nearly nine out of 10 will transition successfully, utilising the skills they've acquired during their military service, but a small minority will encounter serious problems after they leave. And there's some evidence that this number is growing, whether it's mental health or emotional well-being problems, difficulties finding or keeping employment, relationship difficulties or breakdown, physical health problems or others - those were amongst the most serious reported.
“In Wales there are approximately 48,338 veterans, we believe, of working age living here, but veterans themselves are far more likely to be older, with a significantly higher percentage aged over 75, and almost two thirds aged over 65, putting more pressure on support services for those older veterans with complex needs. Male veterans of retirement age are more likely to report experiencing, for example, heart, blood pressure and/or circulatory problems.
“So, what consideration is the Welsh Government, in terms of its health provision, giving to the specific complex needs of veterans? Not just giving them the entitlement to priority treatment, but to acknowledging the need to perhaps engage with them in a practical and sympathetic way when they do access services”.
He added: “In terms of mental health needs, we know that the Royal British Legion has stated that one in 10 of the ex-service community have reported feeling depressed, equating to 31,000 individuals in Wales. There's also the prevalence of common mental health disorders in the UK armed forces, estimated at 20 per cent, alongside alcohol misuse at 13 per cent and post-traumatic stress disorder at 6 per cent. The Help for Heroes grant for Veterans NHS Wales, providing support for that community for three years, of £517,000, to employ three full-time veterans' therapists, ends next September, 2020. And I'm told that the service will need funding additionally of approximately £160,000 each year to retain those posts, if they're to keep waiting time for treatment under Welsh Government targets of 26 weeks. So, what consideration will the Welsh Government therefore be giving to funding those veterans' services in its forthcoming budget? I appreciate you can't tell us how much, but what consideration will you be giving to that?”
Mr Isherwood also spoke of the Army Families Federation concerns about the trend of some local authorities not giving the appropriate discount on the Council Tax Reduction Scheme for armed forces families and asked how the Welsh Government is engaging with that concern and ensuring that it is providing adequate signposting to help and support Armed Forces personnel who are able to apply for that.
He added: “We know that, in Scotland, there is a Veterans Commissioner, independent from the Scottish Government, giving impartial advice on how to improve support for the veterans and ex-forces community to public authorities in Scotland and promoting veterans as valuable assets in their communities. The Scottish Government has also established a Government Minister with specific responsibility for veterans.
“In the UK Government, the Prime Minister has established an Office for Veterans' Affairs within the Cabinet Office and appointed a Minister for Defence People and Veterans. But the Cross-Party Group on the Armed Forces and Cadets' inquiry into the Armed Forces Covenant in Wales found that there was ‘insufficient accountability to ensure that those organisations that have subscribed to the Covenant are actually fulfilling their obligations’. In the absence of the specific officers and roles existing in other parts of the UK, how will the Welsh Government address that specific concern?”.
Speaking outside the Chamber, Mr Isherwood added:
“After meeting with Project 360 earlier this year, a national partnership project in which Age Cymru is working alongside veteran’s charity Woody’s Lodge and Age Alliance Wales members to meet the needs of military veterans in Wales aged 65 or over, and also provide support and guidance for families and carers of eligible veterans, I welcome the Minister’s reference to this in her response.
“It is, however, disappointing that the Minister’s response made no reference to the key issue I raised regarding Veterans' NHS Wales, which supports individuals who have served in the Armed Forces and who are experiencing mental health difficulties related specifically to their military service.
“People in Wales who have served in the Forces deserve the recognition and representation denied to them but available to their colleagues in England and Scotland.”