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SofS Speech: Ministerial Veterans Summit - Monday 14 March 2005
Ladies and Gentlemen, may I add my welcome to you all to this Veterans Summit. I am delighted to see so many people from different agencies all with a common interest in veterans represented here today. It is an appropriate reflection of our approach to veterans' issues - a partnership between Government and the ex-Service charitable organisations.
I am also particularly pleased to see that colleagues from across the world have been able to attend this summit. There are already well-established links on veteran issues between the countries who will be taking part over the next two days. We share information, ideas and best practice. There is also scope to forge closer links with other countries - the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with France last year was encouraging in this respect. It is my hope that we can build on such links to learn more from each other in order to support our veterans more effectively.
There will of course be differences in the way we approach issues. The citizens, cultures and constitutions of each country are unique - so a "one size fits all” approach is not appropriate. Indeed, the term "veteran” means different things in different countries. Here in the United Kingdom, it is deliberately broad term: it includes anyone who has served in the Armed Forces, and includes their widows and dependants.
In this country, the Ministry of Defence maintains the policy lead for veterans, whereas in some other countries, there is a separate department for veterans affairs. So whilst there are differences, many of the challenges and issues we face are the same. Today perhaps not surprisingly I shall focus on the United Kingdom's approach to veterans, but I hope that during the summit there will be opportunities for all of you to share experiences and ideas for the future.
Service Personnel Policy and Veterans InitiativeUltimately our ability to mount successful military operations is dependent on the professional excellence of the servicemen and servicewomen of our Armed Forces. People are always our most important resource.
If we are to recruit and retain the best, we must provide those exceptional people with exceptional support. And exceptional support means looking after our people through life. The treatment of ex-Service personnel has a real and direct bearing on our ability to recruit, train and retain the people we need to sustain current and future operational capability. A key theme of the United Kingdom's Service Personnel Policy, therefore, is to provide all those who leave the Armed Forces, whatever their age, with the help and support they need, particularly through the transition back into civilian life.
That is why the Veterans Initiative, launched personally by the Prime Minister in 2001, is so important in driving the veterans agenda forward across Government. Julian Miller will say more about the Initiative later this morning but, in brief, its aim is:
- To ensure that personnel now serving have as much support as possible during the transition back into civilian life;
- to provide support to veterans in civilian life when they need it; and
- to ensure that the nation recognizes, understands and commemorates the contribution of the Armed Forces, past and present, to our society.
It also aims to ensure a coherent policy for veterans across Government. I am delighted therefore that Dr Stephen Ladyman, our Health Minister, will be here this afternoon to say a few words about the involvement of his Department in the Veterans Initiative.
Working in partnership with the ex-Service charities is also central to our strategy. Major General Shellard will be giving a perspective from the charities later. From our position we value greatly our collaborative relationship with the ex-Service community and the key role they play in all facets of veterans work.
During the past five years I have been privileged to meet a great many British soldiers from all backgrounds. I never cease to be impressed by their fortitude, their tolerance and their good humour in whatever circumstances they find themselves - I am sure that these qualities are displayed by the forces of all the other countries represented here as well. It is a crucial to the future success of our Armed Forces that we communicate these attributes to the wider public. To maintain our operational capability the British Armed Forces need to attract about 24,000 new recruits each year. Yet their footprint in communities at home has inevitably and significantly reduced over the past 25 years. Generally, there are fewer military establishments and, with the passage of time, fewer families that can identify a member who has served in the Forces or through National Service. I suspect this situation may be mirrored in many other countries. This makes it all the more vital that we promote the role of the services and recognize the status and contribution of Service and Ex-Service personnel to our society. We must also ensure that future generations are made fully aware of the debt that is owed to Servicemen and Servicewomen.COMMEMORATION, RECOGNITION AND EDUCATION
This is a momentous period in history for Veterans. The D-Day commemorative events of 2004 were a great success. It was a great honour to be there and meet so many of the veterans who took part. I obviously hope the commemorations this summer will be equally successful.
Discussions have previously taken place with veterans' organisations and as a result it was decided that a single date between VE Day and VJ Day would be chosen for the main national commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the end of Second World War - this will be held on 10 July. We believe a single major event will enhance the scale of what can be achieved. It should not be overlooked however that the two anniversaries will be commemorated separately as well.
The events on 10th July will come at the conclusion of the first ever UK Veterans Awareness Week - a nation-wide programme of events to raise awareness of the sacrifice made by ex-service personnel and the importance of their position in our society.
Education is an integral part of our vision for Veteran support. That is why we launched the scheme called "Their Past: Your Future”, run by the Imperial War Museum with National Lottery funding. This has enabled students from all across the country to join veterans on their overseas pilgrimages. An exhibition is now touring the country. It is important to remember, but it is equally important to educate future generations.
In launching our Veterans Initiative, we planned to help as many veterans as possible return to their theatre of battle. With help from the National Lotteries Big Lottery Fund, to date, over 18000 veterans, spouses and carers have registered their intention to travel and already this year nearly 700 have been back to the battlefields and war cemeteries in Europe, North Africa, India and the Far East as part of this exemplary programme.
As well as enabling veterans to make overseas commemorative visits, we have also produced a series of booklets to mark these historic events. They are dedicated to those who fought for our freedom in World War Two and provide a detailed account of the key actions of the war for those familiar with the period. They also serve as an educational tool for younger people less informed on the heroic actions of Allied personnel. Some copies of the booklets produced to date are available here. Sixty years on, I firmly believe we must take every opportunity to salute the bravery, organisation and ingenuity of our Service personnel, who sacrificed so much in the past.
These schemes and initiatives are combined with the success of the Veterans Badge. Issued free to all First and Second World War veterans, there have been over thirty five thousand recipients to date, including my father. I am delighted by how well received these badges have been, and am particularly pleased that we are beginning to issue them to new service leavers. This scheme reflects our broad definition of the term veteran, and the esteem with which we hold those who serve in the armed forces.
The conclusion of the Second World War 60th anniversaries will be an appropriate point to look ahead to future commemorative events and our future education programme. This Summit provides an excellent opportunity to share our approaches and ideas.
In addition to commemoration and education, it is crucial that we continue to encourage a through life approach towards our Armed Forces. This should be epitomised in our work with both the Service and Veterans communities and with their families.
So now I would like to say a little more about these aspects, starting with the crucial step between an in-Service career and civilian life in the UK.
As part of our work, we are committed to ensuring that Service personnel make a smooth transition to civilian life. I know that the vast majority of Service leavers, currently around 24,000 per year, successfully make this step. Government figures show that 95 percent of entitled personnel who undertake the normal resettlement courses find employment within 6 months of leaving the Forces. However, for a relatively small minority the transition is and can be more difficult, resulting occasionally in social exclusion.
Last April, we improved our transition assistance with the introduction of the Early Service Leavers policy. This ensures that those Service personnel who leave, with no entitlement to normal resettlement provisions, receive sign-posting to advice on benefits, employment and housing as well as guidance on how to contact the ex-Service welfare organisations. All early leavers will also now receive a mandatory interview by trained staff who seek to identify those who are vulnerable and where necessary refer them to more specialist assistance. This new policy fills an important gap in our otherwise excellent Service transition programme.
I should also mention that we are setting up a post-discharge mentoring study to look at how to assist our most vulnerable Early Leavers. The mentoring will involve face-to-face interviews at intervals after discharge. The focus of the mentoring will primarily be on dealing with barriers to employment. We are doing a great deal of work prior to discharge, at the point of discharge and post discharge to prevent Service personnel becoming homeless and to tackle homelessness where it exists amongst new Service leavers and ex-Service personnel. Where problems do arise, we must ensure a safety net is available and the work we are doing through a range of inter-linked projects to provide effective support for homeless and vulnerable veterans will be touched on during the course of the morning.Pension and Death in Service Lump Sum
As important as effective in-service and transition preparation for civilian life is the support offered to personnel once they have left the services. Pensions are an important issue for us all. In the UK, we recently announced our new pension plans, which constitute a major extension to the provision of service personnel. Next month, new entrants to the Armed Forces will be able to join one of two new pension schemes. Both schemes; one for regulars and one for reserves, provide excellent pension benefits. Improvements include major increases in widow's pensions and death benefits. This is an issue where the Prime Minister and I are both concerned to ensure that the United Kingdom Service personnel and their families receive world-class compensation.
We have also extended compensation provision, which will make further payments to the Service person and the family over and above those made by the pension scheme. And we are improving current pensions and war pension's arrangements.
I am therefore pleased to announce that we have decided to increase the death-in-service benefit to 3 times pay for deaths from 6 April 2005 for all members of the current scheme. This is a significant improvement on the current maximum lump sum payment of 1½ times pay. This is in addition to the valuable benefits already paid to a family, following the death of a member of the Armed Forces as a result of service, with improvements under the new Compensation Scheme ensuring payments to the family based on the deceased's income for working life and pension thereafter.
To put this into context, although precise figures will depend on factors such as age and rank, on average the family of someone who dies in-service - and not just those on operations - will receive over four hundred and fifty thousand pounds. This is evidence of the commitment we feel towards our veterans.
On the War Pensions Scheme, I am very pleased to be able to take this opportunity to announce today an increase of £2 a week in the pre-1973 Widows' Supplementary Pension from April 2006. This increase, which amounts to some £4 million each year, is over and above the usual increase for inflation made in April every year, showing the Government's continuing recognition of the debt that the country owes this group of mainly elderly widows and widowers who did not benefit from the improvements to occupational pension schemes introduced in the early 1970s.
I am in no doubt that this is a very good package of benefits. Though the emphasis is more towards pension income than lump sums, we are confident that the package compares well with arrangements by other countries.
These provisions have been met with widespread approval throughout the three services and the ex-service organisations. They will provide more comprehensive support to ex-service personnel and we expect they will prove an attractive package to those considering a service career.Operational Health Related Matters
This Government recognises the common interest in the duty of care we owe our citizens and particularly our ex-service personnel. The medical care we provide ex-service personnel is part of a through life package, which begins before personnel join up. It is vitally important that the health and well being of service personnel is maintained so that they are readily deployable. It is also important that they leave the forces, wherever possible, in a state of physical health and well being, so that civilian life is fulfilling for them and their families.
Primary health care to the armed forces is provided by the Defence Medical Services, whilst the National Health Service covers secondary care. As part of our through life approach, prior to entry personnel are medically examined. This tests medical suitability for deployability. This is combined with the routine practice of immunisation against infectious diseases that are likely to be encountered, combining this with detailed advice and guidance on climate, industrial hazards and even biting insects.
On leaving the services, primary care is then provided by the NHS. As part of our commitment to ex-service personnel, priority treatment is routinely given to those suffering from illness or injury as a result of service. In this way we can provide the best possible support for our veterans.
Research
In addition to primary and secondary medical care, the British government has put significant resources into defence health research, including operational health, to find ways of supporting veterans, and preventing mental and physical harm in both in-Service and ex-Service personnel. This reflects the importance we attach to this area of research and is one area in which we have a clear common interest. Research undertaken both in house and by academic institutions has deepened our understanding of veteran's affairs and enabled us to focus our support more appropriately. It is our aim to continue with research so that our ex-service personnel are catered and cared for in accordance with the latest scientific knowledge.
Conclusion on Collaboration
This summit has come at an important time for ex-service personnel support. I have given an outline of the progress made in our work for veterans and the approach we are taking. I am sure that during the course of the next two days we will learn more of how we each approach complex veterans' issues, and discover whether there are further opportunities to mirror each others efforts. Despite our differences, we all share the need to move forward to meet the needs of the next generation of veterans and the issues they will face while continuing to recognize the special place of older veterans in our respective nations' history and to ensure they receive the support they require. I hope that with further study, communication and collaboration we can continue to improve our support for ex-service personnel. I am sure this summit will be a resounding success and thank many of you for travelling so far to be our guests. It has been an honour to speak to all of you and I look forward to our next opportunity to meet.
