Commitment to improving support for service personnel and veterans in Wales

Labour’s Secretary of State for Wales Paul Murphy and Welsh Assembly Government First Minister Rhodri Morgan today welcomed the UK Government’s commitment to ensure that our Armed Forces, their families and our veterans receive the welfare support they deserve.

The Ministry of Defence has published the Service Personnel Command Paper that outlines a package of measures to ensure the Armed Forces and their families are not disadvantaged due to Service.

Mr Murphy said: “The demands we place upon service personnel in their service to our country are considerable. Service in the forces has requirements, such as the need to accept postings to different bases or countries, which go well beyond the norm. We are determined to ensure that the unusual demands of serving in the Armed Forces do not result in unfairness for service personnel, their families, or veterans. As a result, we have developed a strategy of over 40 new measures to ensure that the Armed Forces and their families are not disadvantaged due to Service. The measures include doubling compensation scheme payments for the most seriously injured, helping Service families with frequent and short notice postings to get their children into schools, and improved access to dentists. These initiatives are cross-government for the UK Government, and represent a major co-ordination of government activity. And beyond this, many of the initiatives are the responsibility of the Welsh Assembly Government in Wales, such as health and education, so we have worked closely in collaboration with the Welsh Assembly Government to ensure that everyone delivers against the pledges made in this important paper. This collaboration will continue as we work to deliver on these promises.”

Mr Morgan said: “The Welsh Assembly Government is committed to improving the position of those who serve in our Armed Forces and to removing any impediments to their recruitment, employment and discharge. Many of the policy areas included in the Service Personnel Command Paper are devolved to the Welsh Assembly Government and the way those services are delivered in Wales will not be identical to what happens in England. We have been considering the implications of the Command Paper and I will make a statement later this year on how we can best meet those commitments in Wales.

Further details of the announcement can be found at:

http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/DefencePolicyAndBusiness/BetterSupportForForcesAndFamilies.htm