We propose, that the National Assembly for Wales:
Notes the centennial anniversaries of the Battles of the Somme, Mametz Wood and the Battle of Jutland.
Pays tribute to those who fought in these and other battles during the First World War.
And honours the memory of both those who lost their lives and those who were casualties of the First World War, and other armed conflicts.
On 7 July 1916 the infantrymen of the 38th (Welsh) Division, composed of miners from the Rhondda, farmers from Caernarfon and Anglesey, coal trimmers from the docks at Barry and Cardiff, bank workers from Swansea and men from a whole host of other backgrounds and occupations from the counties of Wales, were ordered to make a frontal assault on a German-held line in front of a wood, roughly a mile in length, near the small village of Mametz, some twenty miles north-east of Amiens .
It was just a week after the disastrous first day of the Battle of the Somme, when over 19,000 men had been killed.
The Welsh soldiers walked straight into the machine guns of the professional, German soldiers well-entrenched at the edge of the Wood.
“All hell broke loose as machine guns opened up on us from the front and from the flank. We stood no chance and the boys were everywhere falling, but we kept moving forward,” wrote Private Albert Evans, 16th (Cardiff City) Battalion of The Welsh Regiment.
In the words of another soldier: “Hell cannot be much worse.”
400 were killed on the first day of what became a five day battle. By its end, following fierce and confused hand-to-hand fighting within the wood, 4,000 men had been killed or wounded.
We will remember them – as we must their contemporaries today.
The UK has a 'duty of care' to its armed forces.
This began as an unspoken pact between society and the military, possibly originating as far back as Henry VIII's reign.
The pact was formally codified as a 'covenant' in 2000. It was not a law but was reinforced by custom and convention.
The Armed Forces Covenant refers to the mutual obligations between the nation and its Armed Forces.
It sets out what safeguards, rewards and compensation military personnel can expect in return for military service - and the risks and hardships that can involve.
The principles of the Covenant were enshrined in law by the Armed Forces Act 2011.
All 22 Local Authorities in Wales have in place an Armed Forces Community Covenant, requiring them to have Elected Member Armed Forces Champions.
But more is needed.
We regret the Welsh Government amendment stating that it should only consider the support for Wales Armed Forces and Community I will be proposing – when, as our motion states, the Welsh Government must provide this during the Fifth Assembly.
We therefore urge you to listen to Wales’ Armed Forces Community and support out motion unamended.
The Scottish Government introduced the Scottish Veterans Commissioner in 2014.
The establishment of an Armed Forces Commissioner for Wales is essential to support the specific needs of veterans and represent these to Welsh Government – and to properly scrutinise service delivery for veterans carried out by Welsh Government, NHS Wales and local authorities.
Dedicated both to veterans and the wider Armed Forces community, the Commissioner would also engage with the community and champion the many key third sector projects supporting veterans, so that they may be supported and rolled out nationally by the Welsh Government.
In this context, we must recognise UK Government Armed Forces Covenant LIBOR funding for CAIS Wales, Change Step Veteran Services, which works across Wales providing veterans across Wales with tailored peer support and specialist intervention.
Having spoken at the 2013 launch of Change Step , I commend both its development since and its sister project ‘Listen In’, supporting families and friends of veterans promoting recovery from problems associated with military service.
We must also welcome LIBOR funding to First Choice Housing Association to support Wales Homes for Veterans – Alabare.
Although the Ministry of Defence Forces Discount Service and Card are welcomed, providing money off items ranging from children’s toys to mobile phones, Welsh Conservatives have also long campaigned for a Veteran’s Card Scheme.
This would provide free bus travel, priority access to NHS treatment and home adaptation needed as a result of in-service injury or illness, as well as free access to leisure centres and Cadw sites.
However, the Welsh Government has consistently kicked this issue into the long grass since 2014 – when a Veterans ID Card Task and Finish Group was set up. We therefore call on the new Welsh Government to begin immediate work on the Veterans Card.
We must increase funding for the Veterans’ NHS Wales service, to enhance its capacity and improve its ability to help veterans in need.
In April, I visited a constituent living in a Wales Homes for Veterans property who, following his Army discharge was diagnosed with Chronic and Complex service related PTSD.
He had attempted suicide in March after repeated attempts to secure appropriate NHS Wales intervention had dfailed.
Further to my intervention, his Community Mental Health Team when he promised a care coordinator within 4 weeks.
However, when I was asked to visit him again 2 months later, he had still heard nothing.
When Wales Homes for Veterans chased this, they were told that the Health Board had lost 6 members of staff and were replacing them.
They told me that another person being supported by Wales Homes for veterans has been waiting 4 months since being assessed by the Veterans NHS Wales Psychological Therapist, who was now on sick leave.
They also told me that Veterans NHS Wales is providing a good initial response to referrals, but in truth this is just a quick assessment meeting and the patient is then back on the waiting list if they need psychological intervention.
Although an estimated 10,000 ex-forces personnel in Wales suffer from complex military PTSD – 4 to 5% of the ex-forces population in Wales – a Freedom of Information request established that of 158 Veterans referred to the Service in 2012-13, only 100 were treated over a 12-month period, only 24 service-user feedback forms were completed, and only 39 Veterans were discharged.
In contrast, a recent written answer by the Cabinet Secretary for Health stated there were 329 referrals in the same period and 592 in 2015/16, but added that this included extrapolated data.
AND another written answer from the Cabinet Secretary two weeks ago confirmed that the Welsh Government does not hold a figure for Veterans suffering from PTSD in Wales.
As Dr Neil Kitchiner, Principle Clinician of Veterans NHS Wales told the Cross Party Group on Armed Forces and Cadets last year, after we had successfully campaigned against the Welsh Government’s £100,000 funding cut:
There had been no funding increase since 2010 despite increasing work load for the service each year
Welsh funding was below that of other UK NHS services despite being the only National Veterans Service in UK
Instead of a £100,000 top up, an increase in their £485,000 annual budget to £1 million would help them meet Welsh Government target guidelines and Prudent Health Care principles
Equivalent funding in Scotland was £2.5 million.
It is clear from both my comments thus far and the available evidence, improved Welsh Government data collection is vital in order to establish the health needs of veterans; identify the support needed by their family and carers; inform commissioning and service provision; and highlight the engagement needed with people in the armed forces, serving and/or at transition into civilian life.
In fact, this is exactly what last month’s ‘Call to Mind: Wales’ report, commissioned by the Forces in Mind Trust, and based on interviews with veterans and their families and people working in the voluntary and independent sector, called for.
This report also called for increased Veterans’ NHS Wales capacity, stating that much more needs to be done to support the mental health needs of veterans in Wales.
The need for improved data collection is further emphasised by The Royal British Legion’s ‘Count Them In’ campaign, which calls for questions on the Armed Forces community to be included in the next UK Census.
As they say, it is estimated that there are currently between 6.5 million and 6.7 million members of the Armed Forces community living in the UK, representing about a tenth of the population[i]. Yet little is known about the exact numbers, location and needs of this significant group.
There could be up to 250,000 veterans in Wales, but without this data we cannot plan for the NHS Wales capacity needed, commission the wider services required, or provide the support on which family and carers depend, and we cannot deliver on the promise made by the Armed Forces Covenant that those who serve or have served in the armed forces, and their families, are treated fairly.”
I commend this motion accordingly.