 The Royal British Legion launched their general election manifesto on Monday at the Liberal Democrat conference.
In a well-attended fringe event, the Legion called on all political parties to do their bit to improve the welfare and support provisions for service personnel and ensure that the next government honours the military covenant.
Director of welfare Sue Freeth, who chaired the event, was joined on the panel by Liberal Democrat defence spokesman Nick Harvey and chairman of the Liberal Democrat friends of the armed forces group Colonel Terry Scriven.
Outlining the top three priorities for the Legion, Sue highlighted the need for the armed forces compensation scheme to remain under continual and independent review, for there to be an independent body for military inquests, and for more to be done to ensure veterans and doctors know about NHS priority treatment.
It was vital, she said, that “the next government continues to protect the armed forces’ interests in what are likely to be drastic pressures on finances". They were difficult points to contest.
And, in their turn the two speakers agreed that more needed to be done to address fundamental issues of poor accommodation, inadequate mental health care and insufficient support for the families of armed forces personnel.
Harvey referred to the proposals he was launching on reaffirming the military covenant and talked of the scandal of armed forces pay which means the lowest ranks are paid substantially less than those in other parts of the public sector. And he suggested an armed forces housing association might help people get on the housing ladder.
Moreover, he spoke of the need for the government to face up to a “gaping hole in the budget” and for the Ministry of Defence to “get its house in order” with a new strategic defence review that asks tough questions about the future of defence.
Scriven spoke briefly of his personal experiences both in the armed forces and with his local British Legion. He said service personnel felt let down and during the question session cited examples of people he had met who had been left out of the system and in need of care.
Many of those in the audience had personal experience of the armed forces and prefaced their contributions with their stories of local people who had been without mental health support or unable to get on a housing waiting list, despite many years of service.
One attendee drew attention to the particular plight of many young, single, male personnel whose status precluded them from special priority for housing and whose experiences made them more prone to mental health problems. Another speaker highlighted the shortfalls in mental healthcare, an issue Nick Harvey conceded was the "poor relation in the NHS".
Among the contributions, a former army captain called for more attention to be paid to reserve forces who are often forgotten in the debate.
The fringe enabled heartfelt debate on an issue of shared concern where panellists and audience members were united in their conviction that more had to be done to honour the covenant. It will certainly set the ball rolling for the Legion’s campaign.
|
|
