Plaid Cymru’s Westminster leader and long time campaigner for veterans’ rights Elfyn Llwyd MP has called the Armed Forces Bill, discussed in the Commons yesterday (Monday), a “potential historic breakthrough” for vulnerable veterans.
Mr Llwyd warned that the opportunity to legislate to ensure a better life for vulnerable veterans must not be missed.
Mr Llwyd has argued that the Bill needs to be drastically changed from its current state in order to provide this. Mr Llwyd spoke in the Commons debate and said that the Bill has yet to provide solutions to the problems facing armed forces personnel.
Last year Mr Llwyd published a paper calling for a separate strategic review into the money spent on personnel leaving the forces to ensure an integrated support system is in place to help with housing, financial problems and employment.
Mr Llwyd said:
“Transition to life on “Civvy Street” can be just as hazardous an environment for many veterans as Iraq and Afghanistan might seem to us.
“Though the vast majority of veterans do learn to cope with life at home, a growing number do not.
“Due to a lack of regulation, it is not possible for us to know how many drop out of the welfare support system, become homeless, or cut off from main stream services, and socially isolated.
“We can’t put a number on it – but veterans are overrepresented in NHS emergency waiting rooms and in road traffic accidents for example too.
“Hang-ups from army life mean many former soldiers would rather suffer in silence than admit they need help with getting support.
“The way I see it, since we spend so much time training our young men and women up before going to war, we should be investing just as much time in debriefing them before they leave.
“But by improving this Bill, we could be a step closer to improving the way services are administered to veterans and drastically reduce the number that fall into difficulties later in life.
“I am hopeful about this Bill, because many of the recommendations I’ve made over the years could finally be made possible – if we rise to the challenge.
“We need to do our utmost to lessen the trauma of many veterans, such as by increasing the regulation of services available to them.
“I shall be laying amendments to this Bill to help make sure this historic opportunity does not pass us by.”
