Call for renewed commitment to serving personnel and veterans at Royal British Legion manifesto launch

I was delighted to attend the launch of the Royal British Legion Wales Manifesto for 2016 at the Senedd this week.

I have the upmost respect for the RBL’s work in Newport; both through campaigns like the Poppy Appeal – a huge success as ever in 2015 – and in their continued provision of care and support to veterans, serving members of the armed forces, and military families.

We need to do our upmost to ensure that services reflect the needs of our service men and women, as well as their families, on the transition into civilian life. The Welsh Government already has excellent schemes for the sizeable Armed Services community in Wales; including the Veterans NHS service which is unique in the UK, and the HomeBuy shared equity scheme which was recently extended to cover widows and widowers of personnel killed in action.

I would like to see the Welsh Government strengthen programmes in place to support our armed services community, working with local authorities and key partners like the Royal British Legion to ensure that the complex and varying needs of serving and former personnel are met. It is also important that pathways to services like the Veterans NHS are clearly signposted.

Link to the Argus Story – http://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/14259698.display/