Government should honour our armed forces with a veterans covenant says Rennie
January 14, 2010 1:44 PM
Originally published by Scottish Liberal Democrats
Originally published by Scottish Liberal Democrats
The lack of support for veterans and confusion over what services are available to servicemen and women once they leave the armed forces was on the Parliamentary agenda yesterday after a new Veterans Welfare Bill co-sponsored by Willie Rennie MP was introduced in the Commons.
The Bill has been put forward by Mr Rennie's Liberal Democrat colleague, Michael Moore, who has proposed legislation under the '10 Minute Rule' procedure. The Bill will introduce a 'Veterans Covenant' setting out a duty of care for veterans in the same way that the Military Covenant does for serving members of the armed forces and their families.
The proposed Bill will also seek to improve the coordination and implementation of existing support programmes available for those who have served in the armed forces, and would require the Secretary of State for Defence to report to Parliament on veterans' welfare issues on an annual basis.
Commenting Mr Rennie said:
'Ministers quite rightly pay tribute to the sacrifices that our armed forces make on our behalf, but the simple fact is that in many cases the level of support they receive from the Government is unacceptable.
'Making the Government's responsibilities to our veterans explicit and ensuring that information on welfare is accessible can only improve the quality of services offered to former servicemen and women around the UK.
'It is only right that the assistance offered to our veterans after they leave the armed forces reflects the extent of the sacrifices that so many of them have made on our behalf.
"I believe that the measures proposed in this Bill would be a positive first step towards addressing the failures that have left some veterans isolated, vulnerable and out of pocket."
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