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.
Read moreThe 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.
Read moreThe sixth Armed Forces Covenant annual report has been presented to parliament, showing good progress on providing support for the Armed Forces Community.
The Covenant is a promise from the nation ensuring that those who serve or have served in the Armed Forces, and their families, are treated fairly.
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This checklist highlights 12 steps you can take now to prepare for the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which will apply from 25 May 2018.
Many of the GDPR’s main concepts and principles are much the same as those in the current Data Protection Act (DPA), so if you are complying properly with the current law then most of your approach to compliance will remain valid under the GDPR and can be the starting point to build from. However, there are new elements and significant enhancements, so you will have to do some things for the first time and some things differently.
Read moreChristmas came early on Monday, when the doors of 10 Downing Street were opened for a special Children’s Party.
Joining the festive celebrations were two military families who adopted through SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity.
Attendees included an Army veteran and his partner and a RAF family. Both couples adopted two siblings, a boy and a girl in 2014 and have continued to be supported by SSAFA’s Post-Adoption Support service. The children are aged 7, 8, 9 and 10 years old.
Read moreFormer Minister of State for the Armed Forces and current MP for Rayleigh and Wickford attended the weekly session
On Thursday 30th November, the Southend Veterans’ Club welcomed Mark Francois, Conservative MP for Rayleigh and Wickford.
The visit was part of Mark’s ongoing commitment and personal interest in the military community, which he is closely affiliated with.
Read moreNHS England is in the process of procuring a veterans’ mental health complex treatment service (VMH CTS) that will launch on 1 April 2018.
The purpose of the VMH CTS, which builds on the recent launch of the NHS veterans’ mental health transition, liaison and intervention service (VMH TIL service), is to provide an enhanced service for veterans who have military attributable complex mental health problems, many of whom will have experienced trauma, which have not been resolved earlier in the care/support pathway.
The service will focus on veterans who will benefit from the intensive provision of a range of mental health and social interventions. This may include (but is not limited to) substance misuse, occupational therapy, physical health, employment, accommodation, relationships, finances and trauma focused therapy.
Read moreNew £4m RBLI apartments, specifically designed for veterans, opened by Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon
The Secretary of State for Defence, Sir Michael Fallon, has today opened Royal British Legion Industries’ new £4m apartments for injured veterans. The apartments, which were funded by the Government through The Libor Fund and four corporate donors, including the Morrisons Foundation, were officially opened at a grand event on Friday with over 250 attendees.
Situated on Hermitage Lane near Maidstone, the apartments have been built specifically for veterans who are wounded, injured, sick, or at risk of homelessness. The houses host 24 one and two-bed flats, all with special adaptations to make the lives of those with disabilities easier.
Read moreSecondary Legislation to enable charitable companies and Community Interest Companies to convert into CIOs has been laid in Parliament. Subject to Parliamentary approval, phased implementation of CIO conversions could begin from January 2018.
In 2013, the Charitable Incorporated Organisations (CIO) was introduced as a new legal structure to meet the needs of small charities in England and Wales. Since then, it has proved popular with over 12,500 new CIOs registered by the Charity Commission.
Read moreBlind Veterans UK is welcoming a new Certificate of Vision Impairment (CVI) form and accompanying Explanatory Notes for ophthalmologists which have been launched on the Department of Health website.
The military charity is part of a working group with other charities, led by the RNIB, which has supported the development of the new CVI form. This form is issued to patients assessed by a consultant ophthalmologist as being vision-impaired and often provides the first opportunity for patients to access information about support and services.
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Afghanistan support
In light of recent events in Afghanistan, please find information and support resources here
