MOD SETS OUT CROSS-GOVERNMENT STRATEGY TO IMPROVE SUPPORT FOR THE ARMED FORCES

The Ministry of Defence has today published the Service Personnel Command Paper which outlines a package of measures to improve the lives of our Service Personnel, their families and our veterans.

This paper - “The Nation’s Commitment: Cross-Government Support to our Armed Forces, their Families and Veterans” - is the first time that such a cross-Government strategy has been issued and it sets the standard for the level and scope of support our Service personnel can expect.

Key changes include:
• The Ministry of Defence doubling Armed Forces Compensation Scheme payments for the most serious injuries from £285,000 to £570,000. All injured personnel will receive an increase of between 10 and 100%;
• The Department of Health improving access to NHS dentists for Service families;
• The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills offering free A-Level equivalent or first Degree-level education for Service leavers with six years service;
• The Department for Transport offering free bus travel for seriously injured Service Personnel and veterans;
• The Department for Communities and Local Government helping Service leavers get on the property ladder by extending their Key Worker status for 12 months after leaving the Armed Forces; and
• The Department for Children, Schools and Families making it easier for Service families with frequent and short notice postings to get their children into local schools.

Secretary of State for Defence, Des Browne, said:
“ Our Armed Forces are truly inspiring – every day they risk their lives to keep us safe – and it is a fundamental duty of government to support them and their families. I think this Command Paper presents a package of measures that will make a real difference to the everyday lives of our forces and their families. It will improve their access to public services and for the most seriously injured it will ensure a significant increase in the amount of compensation that they get paid. I think it offers significant progress and we now have to make sure we deliver that change.

Chief of the Defence Staff, Sir Jock Stirrup, said:
“ Our Servicemen and women achieve great things on a daily basis in testing conditions all over the world. They, and their families, also face unique demands that make their achievements all the more remarkable. As a nation, we have a duty to make sure that our Armed Forces are treated fairly whether they are home or abroad, and that is why this Service Personnel Command Paper is so important. My fellow Chiefs and I welcome this paper. It will ensure our Armed Forces and their dependants are not disadvantaged by their Service life, and in some cases enjoy special treatment befitting of their daily sacrifice on behalf of us all.”

The Service Personnel Command Paper was commissioned by the Prime Minister in November 2007. Since then Armed Forces Minster Bob Ainsworth has led a team of tri-Service personnel and MoD civil servants to produce the new strategy and the measures. The Service Personnel Command Paper team consulted widely with current and former Service personnel, their families, Service charities, Service Families Federations; and worked with colleagues across Whitehall and in the Devolved Administrations.

Notes to Editors
1. For more information contact Paul Leat in the MoD Press Office on 020 7218 7931.
2. The Service Personnel Command Paper is published on the MoD website at www.mod.uk
3. Key measures in the Service Personnel Command Paper include:

MoD

• Improved payments under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme
The upfront lump sum payment for injury under the AFCS will be doubled for the most serious injuries. All recipients, according to severity of injury, will have an uplift of between 10 and 100% in their upfront lump sum payments. MOD also intends to confer additional benefits to extend this effect to those who have already made claims under the Scheme. The Guaranteed Income Payment (GIP) will continue to apply in addition to the upfront lump sum compensation payment. The GIP will continue to provide the most seriously injured with a monthly, tax-free income once they leave the Service. For example, a 25-year-old seriously injured soldier may receive a £570,000 lump sum payment plus a GIP of £19,000 per year tax free for life. If he lives to average life expectancy, this is a further million pounds, tax free, on top of the lump sum payment. These changes will be implemented following a short consultation period.

Department for Health (DH)

• Improved access to NHS dentists for Service families
Service mobility and the frequent need to find an NHS dentist in the new location can make access to dentistry difficult for Service families. DH and other health departments will trial various new ways such as making use of facilities on military bases, or provide mobile services in those areas, or make use of spare capacity elsewhere. Trials will begin by December 2008 and complete by December 2009.
DH and other health departments will work with the NHS to ensure that health areas with large Service personnel populations plan with the military communities in their areas to ensure Service families get the dental care they need.
• NHS Waiting List – Retention of Place.
Service mobility can cause repeated loss of place on NHS waiting lists. DH and other health departments will ensure that when patients move across the UK, previous waiting time will be taken into account with the expectation, all things being equal, that treatment will be within national waiting time standards.

The Department for Innovation, University and Skills (DIUS)

• Free education and training for Service leavers
Those joining the Armed Forces often commit to this career path before they can take advantage of opportunities in further or higher education. All Service leavers with over 6 years’ service will have the opportunity to achieve their first Level 3 qualification (A-level or equivalent) free from tuition fees. Alternatively, for those who want to progress to higher levels, we will fund all tuition fees for a first foundation or full degree. This means that a sailor, soldier or airman can join the Armed Forces from school, secure in the knowledge that six or more years’ service will be rewarded with the opportunity of a college or university education without tuition fees. Scottish Ministers and the Welsh Assembly Government have agreed to put in place similar measures.

The Department for Transport (DfT)

• Concessionary Bus Travel.
The statutory bus concession in England will be extended by 1 April 2011 to include seriously injured Service personnel and veterans under the age of 60.
• Automatic entitlement for Blue Badges to severely injured veterans
The Blue Badge Scheme provides a range of parking concessions across the UK for people with severe mobility problems. We will now introduce a scheme so that severely disabled veterans in England will receive automatic entitlement to a Blue Badge without further assessment. Scottish Ministers will also implement this change. The Welsh Assembly Government is consulting on plans for a Reform Strategy for the Blue Badge Scheme in Wales, with this proposal considered as part of the review.

The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG)

• Extending Key Worker Status for Service leavers
Servicemen and women in England have Key Worker Status but many do not have the opportunity to purchase a home. DCLG is extending Key Worker Status to enable Service leavers to access Key Worker Living 12 months after discharge.
• High priority for injured troops in applying for adapted social housing
Seriously injured Service personnel can face delays in obtaining suitable adapted social housing where they are not given sufficient priority.
DCLG will give seriously injured personnel in England and Wales high priority for social housing. Statutory guidance will be issued to reinforce this message. Scottish Ministers will remind landlords of the existing high priority that seriously injured personnel in Scotland receive for adapted social housing.
• Housing to prevent homelessness
To help prevent homelessness, DCLG will contribute £400,000 to provide new supported housing for Service leavers in England to enable them to make a successful transition to civilian life. We will work with the Housing Corporation to deliver this initiative which will also be supported by MOD gifting land.

Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF)

• School Place Allocation
Access to schools is more difficult for Service children due to the frequency and short notice postings of their parents. DCSF is seeking Service families’ views on improving admissions, and the Schools Adjudicator is reviewing admissions for 2009 in order to identify any disadvantage for Service families so that it can be removed.
• Priority access and increased provision of State Boarding Schools
Boarding school education can reduce the impact of Service mobility on children’s education. DCSF will prioritise Service children’s access, second only to children in care, for state boarding school places. DCSF will also increase the number of places at state boarding schools by well over 100 over the next 3 years.
Additionally, through the academies programme, 3 new state boarding schools are planned.

Quotes from other Government Departments on the Service Personnel Command Paper

Department Children, Schools and Families

Jim Knight, Schools Minister, said:

“ Our aspiration is for this to be the best country in the world to grow up in. This applies to all children from every imaginable background. The armed services in this country are the best in world and they deserve the best for their families. I want to ensure that no child is disadvantaged because of postings or arriving at a school mid-term.
“ There are 210,000 children in this country who may move or have their education disrupted by one or more of their parents being posted. We need to keep this disruption to a minimum and ensure they receive everything they would have had they stayed put. We ask so much of our armed services and it’s only right that we give a fair service back. I am very pleased to be able to make the Department for Children, Schools and Families’ contribution to this wide ranging Service Personnel Command Paper.”

Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills

Bill Rammell, Minister of State for Lifelong Learning, Further and Higher Education, said:
“ Our soldiers, sailors and air staff face unique demands with courage and professionalism – they deserve our full respect and gratitude.
“ As part of the Government’s commitment to enhance the support given to our armed forces, my department will pay the tuition fees of those personnel leaving the forces who want to improve their education and skills.
“ Equipping ex-servicemen and women with the skills required by today’s employers is one of the best ways of ensuring their successful reintegration into civilian life following years of dedicated service to our country.”

Department of Health

Ben Bradshaw, Health Minister, said:
“ Our service men and women do an outstanding job and we all owe them a debt of gratitude and a duty of care.
“ That is why the Department of Health is working closely with Armed Forces personnel on a raft of measures that ensure service personnel and their families have the best possible care.”

Department for Transport

Rosie Winterton, Transport Minister, said:
" Ensuring injured Service personnel and Veterans receive a free England-wide bus pass and have an automatic entitlement to Blue Badges are key ways in which we can recognise the valuable contributions they make.
" It will help injured Service personnel and Veterans to access key services and keep in contact with friends and family - giving the freedom to live a more independent life. It is only right that we do everything we can to help personnel injured whilst serving their country and I am pleased to work with the Ministry of Defence to bring these important changes into effect."

Department for Communities and Local Government

Caroline Flint, Housing Minister, said:
" Our service men and women make huge sacrifices to serve and protect our country and it is important that we recognise the unique and considerable demands they face, particularly in relation to housing.
" We are committed to supporting our service people, both during and after they’ve left the military. These new measures will ensure that current and ex-service personnel have access to the accommodation that they and their families need and can have successful and rewarding civilian lives after they’ve left the Services."

Quotes from the Chiefs on the Service Personnel Command Paper

Admiral Sir Jonathon Band, First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff:
“ I welcome today’s announcement and the Government’s Service Personnel Command Paper. I see this as a hugely significant opportunity to deliver improved cross Government support to our people across the very wide Personnel area: from health care to housing; from education to concessionary travel. I am very encouraged by the potential opportunities this affords to advance the way in which our people are supported by the Nation they in turn support so very well. Royal Navy and Royal Marines personnel staff, together with families and veterans groups, across the Naval Service have been deeply involved in providing advice to this paper and I look forward to seeing the proposals take effect – our people deserve nothing but the best.”

General Sir Richard Dannatt, Chief of the General Staff:
“ Support to current operations is our top priority but, to sustain this effort, my principal concern as the Chief of the General Staff is for our soldiers who we must always put first, along with their families who do so much to support them and our veterans who we must never forget. I am encouraged by the welcome news on compensation for our injured soldiers and that, where appropriate, the uniqueness of life in the Armed Forces should be properly recognised. I therefore welcome this Command Paper as an important step in the right direction for cross-Government support for what we in the Army call the ‘Military Covenant’. However, I am mindful that for any organisation, 20% is about getting the strategy right but 80% is about delivery and so I am pleased that an independently minded External Reference Group will assure the progress of the Command Paper’s recommendations.”

Air Chief Marshal Sir Glenn Torpy, Chief of the Air Staff:
“ The commitments we have secured from across Government are not ‘special’ treatment simply because we are in the military, but are a fair return for the sacrifices that our people willingly make and the risks they take on behalf of the nation. I am delighted that other Government departments have recognised the specific needs of the Service community; their commitments go a long way to address existing inequalities. Equally importantly, the Paper also puts into place the mechanisms to ensure that any developing areas of disadvantage are tackled quickly and effectively.”

 

               

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