Support for veterans and serving military personnel is to be strengthened as the Welsh Government has revealed extra funding is to be made available for specialist services.
The announcement has been welcomed by Wrexham’s Assembly Member Lesley Griffiths.
Veterans NHS Wales helps veterans access health services tailored to their specific needs. Under the latest proposals, the service, which already receives £485,000 annually, will receive an extra £100,000 to primarily focus and treat mental health issues such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
In the meantime, the Welsh Government has also confirmed it will continue to protect eligible military personnel from the effects of the UK Government’s decision to abolish council tax benefit.
For the second year running the Welsh Government has maintained full entitlements for all those eligible for a council tax reduction, including serving members of the armed forces and ex-service personnel and their families, and has vowed to continue to do so until at least 2016-17.
These latest announcements compliment last year’s package of support delivered by the Welsh Government for serving personnel, veterans, and their families. This included a £2m investment in housing for armed forces service leavers, financial assistance for leavers wishing to enter education, and an automatic entitlement for Blue Badges for seriously injured personnel.
AM Ms Griffiths said:
“As a nation, it is important we recognise the vital contribution veterans and serving military personnel make to our country.”
“In my role as Local Government Minister, I have responsibility for matters relating to the Armed Forces community. Recently in Wrexham I witness first-hand the immense appreciation and support the general public feel towards our veterans and military personnel when I attended the North Wales Armed Forces Day celebrations.”
“With more than 400,000 members of the Armed Forces community living in Wales, I am delighted the Welsh Government remains committed to supporting both veterans and serving military personnel.”
