As celebrations get underway across Wales to mark Armed Forces Day (June 24th) and Reserves Day (June 21st), North Wales MS Mark Isherwood has challenged the Welsh Government over the support it is providing to the Armed Forces Community in Wales.
Responding to the Statement by the Deputy Minister for Social Partnership: ‘Armed Forces Day’ in the Welsh Parliament yesterday, Mr Isherwood said official figures in 2021 stated that around 115,000 people in Wales reported that they had previously served in the UK armed forces, and that the percentage was higher than in England. He highlighted that across Wales, the local authorities with the highest proportion of veterans include Conwy, Pembrokeshire and Anglesey.
He asked:
“What figures does the Welsh Government have for the number of people in the Armed Forces Community in Wales, including serving personnel, ex-personnel and their families, and how does it factor this in to its support planning and delivery?”
Mr Isherwood also highlighted the need for a peer mentor in each Local Health Board for veterans with mental health problems, including PTSD, and asked what action the Welsh Government is taking to ensure that the essential services provided by ‘Change Step’, continue to be available.
He said:
“As Veterans NHS Wales have told me, they are grateful for their additional recurrent funding, which we had been calling for. I was told, however, there was a need for a peer mentor in each Local Health Board.
“Will the Minister therefore confirm what action has now been taken regarding this, and whether the Welsh Government has now implemented this or will be doing so?”
He added:
“Will the Minister join me in welcoming the UK Government’s £320 Million investment in the Armed Forces estate in Wales, including a new Reserve Company of the Royal Welsh at Wrexham’s Hightown Barracks and the retention of Brecon Barracks?
“I spoke at the 2013 launch at Wrexham’s Hightown Barracks of Change Step, the Veteran’s Support Programme in Wales that helps Veterans and their families tackle Service related mental health conditions by providing tailored peer support and specialist intervention.
“I visited the Veterans’ Gateway Call Centre in Nantgarw with other members of the Cross-Party Group on Armed Forces and Cadets last Thursday, which is there for any ex-service personnel and their families looking for advice or support – whatever they are dealing with.
“We met members of their friendly helpline team, who can be contacted 24/7, who told me that Change Step was one of the key services they refer into. What action is the Welsh Government therefore taking to ensure that the essential services provided by Change Step continue to be available?”
He also asked how the Welsh Government is responding to 5 key recommendations in the June 2022 Female Veterans Report: “The forgotten and invisible servicewomen of our Armed Forces”, covering: Peer to peer support; Improvement of transition services and resettlement; Medical services; Financial and employment support and ‘Life skills’ workshops, and called for an update on the Welsh Government’s definition of service children and the data captured by the Pupil Level Annual School Census, and how this is being used to inform provision for Armed Forces Children in Welsh Schools.