News

29 June 2018

Poppyscotland

Families, government, Scotland, Veterans, Welfare

MPs lend support to ‘Count them in’ census campaign

MSPs gathered at the Scottish Parliament today (Thursday) to show support for Poppyscotland’s ‘Count Them In’ campaign. By highlighting the knowledge gap that is created by relevant questions not being included in the Census, the campaign seeks to identify where members of the Armed Forces community in Scotland live, and the issues they face, in order to tailor services accordingly.

Leading the call on the Garden Lobby Steps were MSPs Maurice Corry and Jackie Baillie, who serve as Convenor and Deputy Convenor respectively of the Armed Forces and Veterans Cross-party Group.

29 June 2018

Ministry of Defence

government, Research, Serving, Transition, Veterans, Welfare

Publication of Armed Forces Covenant Report 2017

The Defence Committee will be publishing its Report, Armed Forces Covenant Report 2017, on Saturday 30 June at 00.01am.

This will be the Committee’s Ninth Report of Session 2017–19 (HC 707).

Embargoed copies of the report will be available to witnesses, including those from Government departments, and the media on Friday 29 June from 11.00 am. Members of the press should contact Alex Paterson on 07917 488 488.

29 May 2018

Royal Navy & Royal Marines Charity

Children, Families, government, Navy, Royal Marines, Royal Navy, Serving

Secretary of State for Defence special guest at the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity

The Secretary of State for Defence, Rt Hon Gavin Williamson CBE, was a special guest of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity last month.

The Member of Parliament for South Staffordshire met staff from the national charity of the Royal Navy alongside guests from Veterans Outreach Support (VOS) and the Portsmouth City Council.

Mr Williamson’s visit to Portsmouth coincided with the announcement that HMS Queen Elizabeth will soon travel on its first major overseas deployment to New York. As the aircraft carrier’s affiliate charity, the RNRMC will play a role in supporting the sailors on board, many of whom will be deployed for up to 9 months at a time.

17 May 2018

Poppyscotland

Events, government, Scotland

Cabinet Secretary helps launch special centenary poppy

Keith Brown MSP visited Lady Haig’s Poppy Factory, in Edinburgh, earlier today to help launch a stunning new commemorative poppy, which will be distributed and worn during the 2018 Scottish Poppy Appeal.

As part of the leading Armed Forces charity’s programme of activity to mark the centenary of the end of the First World War, Poppyscotland has commissioned a Centenary Poppy, which has the text “1918-2018” embossed in gold across the traditional and iconic red paper poppy. It will be the first change to the poppy in decades.

2 May 2018

Army Families Federation (AFF)

Army, Children, Education, Families, government, Wales, Welfare

AFF welcomes support for Service pupils in Wales

The Army Families Federation (AFF) is delighted to hear that a new £200,000 fund to support Service families in Wales has been announced by the Welsh Government. In 2017, the charity sent a detailed brief, on families’ behalf, to the Education Minister Kirsty Williams, highlighting the need for targeted pupil funding for Armed Forces children in Wales, and they are pleased to see that this important issue has now been recognised.

24 April 2018

government, Transition, Veterans, Wales, Welfare

Written Statement – Support for the Armed Forces in Wales

Alun Davies, Cabinet Secretary for Local Government & Public Services:
I am publishing my assessment of the benefits and value of appointing an Armed Forces Commissioner for Wales. This follows my commitment during Plenary on 29 November, to meet with the Cross-Party Group for Armed Forces and Cadets and make an informed decision following the meeting.

Having met with the Cross-Party Group and considered the work being undertaken in Wales, and across the UK and beyond, I set out my decision below;

A tremendous amount of progress has been made in Wales over the last two years. Working closely with the Armed Forces Expert Group, we have delivered on key areas.

19 April 2018

Help for Heroes

government, Health, Mental Health, Veterans, Welfare

Help for Heroes highlights the needs of wounded Veterans to Defence Secretary

Veterans’ mental health and the needs of the Very Seriously Injured and Brain Injured were among the issues raised by Help for Heroes on the Secretary of State for Defence’s first visit to one of the charity’s Recovery Centres, Tedworth House, on Monday.

The meeting comes a week before Help for Heroes appears before the Defence Select Committee, alongside other charity partners, as part of its inquiry into the mental health of Veterans and Serving Personnel. In written evidence to the Committee, the Charity raised concerns about MOD data collection in relation to mental health, as well as concerns with the MOD model of care which only allows for 6 months of treatment through the Departments of Community Mental Health (DCMH) before responsibility for care is passed to the NHS.

6 March 2018

Forces in Mind Trust, Riverside, The Stoll Foundation

Announcements, Event, government, Housing, Launch, Research, Veterans, Welfare

Government urged to make changes to end homelessness among ex-Servicemen and women

New research commissioned by Stoll and Riverside, released today [Tuesday 6th March] at an event at the House of Lords, highlights how some vulnerable ex-Service personnel in crisis are not accessing support services resulting in homelessness after leaving the Armed Forces.

The Forces in Mind Trust (FiMT) funded research, conducted by York University, found that of participating veterans, many experienced inconsistent quality of advice on transitioning from Service and inadequate support from Local Housing Authorities in the years after leaving service, many of whom did not identify the specialist support available to veterans.

5 February 2018

Employment, Families, government, Regulation, Serving

Veterans Spouses encouraged to register as deadline looming

Under the UK Armed Forces Covenant, in April 2016 the government Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) inroduced a National Insurance credits initiative aimed to support spouses or civil partners who accompanied their UK Armed Forces husband / wife / civil partner on an overseas posting and whose ability to be gain fully employed was limited.

UK Armed Forces spouses or civil partners National Insurance credits deadline end March 2018.

5 February 2018

Help for Heroes

Campaign, government, Mental Health, Welfare

Help for Heroes secures inquiry into Veterans Mental Health

The Defence Select Committee has announced it will be scrutinising Veterans mental health support this year, after Help for Heroes raised concerns in November last year.

In a letter to the Chair, Dr Julian Lewis, the Charity highlighted the issue of inadequate funding for NHS trusts who are finding their excellent work with Veterans and their families is being hindered by a lack of funding from central Government.

Head of Psychological Wellbeing, Karen Mead, welcomed the announcement saying: “Almost 500 individuals were discharged in 2016/17 with mental health issues – this has increased by 90% since 2012.

Items 91 to 100 of 124

« 1 … 8 9 10 11 12 13 »