HONOURING THE MILITARY COVENANT

Homes fit for Heroes! Post war house building

Sadly it won't come as much of a surprise to even the most impartial observers that UK Government's have a tendency to treat former (and serving) service personnel badly. On occasion you may well be driven to wonder if anything has changed since 1918; once again our service personnel are serving in a distant land and their families live quietly at home in sub-standard accommodation.

Back in 1918 the solders that served through the First World War (some of my relatives amongst them) were promised 'Homes fit for heroes'. Oddly enough the last but one Conservative / Liberal Coalition found that honouring promises to live heroes cost too much (what price the sacrifice made at the front?) once the war was over it turned out that dead heroes were cheaper to honour than live ones - thus fell the Geddes Axe.

In the last one hundred years the only honourable exception to this roll of shame was the 1945 Labour Government which made significant efforts to help the veterans with access to education, jobs and decent housing, The other post war governments have quietly and consistently betrayed the military covenant and any promises to our service personnel (and former service personnel) have not been honoured.

Last week we observed another Remembrance Sunday, this one some 94 years after 1918 and we have a UK Westminster Government that is not honouring the military covenant. In 2012 we still find ourselves in a situation where soldiers families are living in sub-standard accommodation and our veterans get shoddy treatment for services rendered after completion of their service.

Last week Plaid Cymru MP Elfyn Llwyd used a Parliamentary debate to stress the importance of the Military Covenant, expressing concern that it is not being enforced as robustly as possible in all areas. He warned that many veterans face isolation and suffering as a result.

Mr Llwyd, who has campaigned extensively for veterans' rights and chairs the Veterans in the Criminal Justice System Parliamentary Group fears that a postcode lottery is at work in which some veterans requiring post-service support are discriminated against purely as a result of where they live or how long ago they served.

He added that, although the majority of armed forces personnel adjust to civilian life normally after discharge, it is vital that those who do require care receive the utmost support in accordance with the Military Covenant, highlighting its importance as something which must be put into practice rather than merely exist in principle.

Speaking after the debate, Mr Llwyd said:

"While it is hugely encouraging that the Covenant has now been enshrined in law, it is vital that it forms the basis of robust action, rather than merely empty words.

"If this is not achieved - as I fear is happening in some cases at present - there is a real danger that some veterans face discrimination as a result of where they live or how long ago they served. This postcode lottery is wholly unacceptable and does a great disservice to those who have sacrificed so much for their countries.

"While the majority of armed forces personnel adjust to civilian life after discharge, unless the Covenant is practiced properly then those veterans who do need help face a whole range of problems such as isolation, lack of welfare support, mental health issues and in some cases, alcohol problems.

"The mere fact that a debate was held on this topic today clearly indicates that concerns exist over the Military Covenant's shortcomings.

"What we need is more resources to deal with mental health problems, greater recognition of the welfare needs of veterans, and urgent action to address the dependency on alcohol and other substances which many armed forces personnel develop.
  "These individuals have shown great commitment and sacrifice throughout their time in service and while recent years have seen positive developments in the field of veteran care, much more must be done in order to prevent more men and women falling into a downward spiral of suffering."

TIME TO DELIVER ON THE PROMISES

Plaid Cymru’s Westminster leader and defence spokesperson, Elfyn Llwyd MP, is right to warn that the UK government must undertake radical steps to help the rising numbers of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) sufferers. The UK Government has taken its time in responding to the needs of our veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan - a number of whom are suffering from PTSD.

The Defence Secretary, Liam Fox, promised today to provide a 24-hour helpline and an additional 30 mental health nurses for veterans and serving soldiers. This is a step in the right direction but far bolder action needs to be undertaken to support our veterans and our serving service personnel and their families, who were promised help by New Labour, who failed to deliver.

Plaid's Elfyn Llwyd has long been at the forefront of a campaign for greater support for veterans of the Armed Forces and recently travelled to the United States as part of a delegation sponsored by the Howard League for Penal Reform to research the issue of why so many ex-servicemen and women end up in prison.

Plaid's Elfyn Llwyd MP said:

“This is an issue I have long campaigned for and I am extremely glad that the UK government has finally realised what a critical problem we face with veterans welfare. It is a crying shame that more is not done to support our young men and women when they leave the forces – particularly when we ask so much of them in going to war. PTSD is a problem that can take years, sometimes decades, to surface. We need to ensure that support is on offer whenever a veteran needs that support – not just immediately prior to leaving the forces. No doubt we have yet to witness the true scale of the mental health fall-out that will come in the wake of Iraq and Afghanistan. While I'm glad that steps are being taken, there is a certain 'de ja vu' in this announcement as it seems to be a re-hash of promises made by the last government.

Will this government really commit itself to tackling this ever increasing problem? We need to improve mental health screening of personnel when they sign up as well as developing a holistic and thorough support structure available for every veteran when they leave the forces. I have argued that there should be a thorough and separate review into resources spent on veterans – similar to the Defence review, that way would we would be closer to recognising where exactly, and how much, resources would be needed to begin targeting the problem. A structure needs to be in place to provide support and advice on accommodation, career advice and debt management as well as health and mental health issues, to target the social isolation experienced by many veterans.Only through developing a thorough support network will we be able to tackle the scandalous number of veterans who end up in the criminal justice system and in the homeless population.”

Sadly it should come as no real surprise to even the most impartial observer (or not) that UK Government's have a tendency to treat former (and serving) service personnel badly. On occasion you may well be driven to wonder if anything has changed; once again our heroes and heroines are doing battle in a distant land and their families are living quietly in sub-standard accommodation at home. They (my grandfather amongst them) were promised many years ago 'Homes fit for heroes' – but the last but one Conservative / Liberal Coalition found that honouring promises to heroes cost too much (what price the sacrifice made at the front?) once the war was over thus fell the Geddes Axe...

The only honourable exception to this roll of shame was the 1945 Labour Government, the rest have readily and speedily betrayed their promises our service personnel - admittedly usually after a wars conclusion rather than while it is still going on. It is deeply ironic that with the ninetieth anniversary of a UK Government betraying its promise to our soldiers to ensure that they had homes fit for heroes after the 1914 – 1918 war; that we find ourselves in a situation where soldiers families are living in sub-standard accommodation and our veterans and the sharp end of shoddy treatment for services rendered .

Defence Secretary, Liam Fox, promised today to provide a 24-hour helpline and an additional 30 mental health nurses for veterans and serving soldiers - lets hope this Government keeps its promises to our veterans and our serving service personnel.