I thank the Member for his questions and his commitment to the armed forces. Obviously, devolution poses challenges, but also opportunities and it would be wrong for Mark Isherwood not to raise the good things that are happening in Wales that aren’t happening in England. He raised the issue of the pupil grant. I’m not going to shy away from the pupil deprivation grant in Wales; it’s a great enhancement to the educational attainment of our most vulnerable pupils and we should continue to fund that. Of course, I listened carefully to his concerns about the aspects of armed forces’ children here in Wales and the opportunities we present there. Supporting Service Children in Education Cymru is a programme that was established in 2014 by the Welsh Local Government Association with funding from the Ministry of Defence’s education support fund. We are learning from that programme. Indeed, in Brecon, in Kirsty Williams’s constituency, the Supporting Service Children in Education initiative has helped Nepalese families, as part of the Gurkha regiment, settle into school and the wider community. So, we do have some good practice here in Wales.

With regard to Veterans’ NHS Wales, we are proud of the work that we are engaged in. The veterans NHS service provides a dedicated veterans therapist in each of the health boards and it’s the only national service for veterans of this kind in the UK. The Member failed to mention that. We provide £585,000 per annum of funding to support Veterans’ NHS Wales and over 1,670 veterans have been referred to this service so far. I do recognise also the pressure in the system: I don’t deny that and there is more work to do, and I said that within the statement. But it would be wrong of us not to celebrate the good work that goes on in our communities, supporting individuals as we move forward. Indeed, the relationship with CAIS and the Royal British Legion is one that I welcome and will continue to engage with.

The Member made reference on several occasions to the Royal British Legion and their views on this. The Royal British Legion is part of my armed forces expert group, and I’m surprised that some of the points that the Member raises haven’t been raised directly with me by the Royal British Legion or other organisations in that respect. The Member says they have, but I can assure you that in the meeting that I had last time, none of the points that he raised here with me today was on the list that was raised with me.

I met with the expert group in July to determine our future priorities and how, by working together, we can deliver these. I think the expert group is a great opportunity for us to learn, to disseminate information and to understand the multi-agency membership of this group, where we can be well informed. Rather than the anecdotal evidence that Members sometimes produce, actually, I’m really interested to understand the facts and figures from the presentations that are brought to me by the armed forces and the support agencies around them.