I’d like to thank the Welsh Conservatives for bringing forward this debate today, particularly as we prepare to remember the sacrifice made by so many of our brave armed forces personnel. Welsh citizens have a long tradition of serving our nation’s armed forces, and played a key role in many of the battles in both world wars. Wales represents just 5 per cent of the UK’s population, yet makes up 7 per cent of the UK’s ex-service community. We currently have around 8,000 Welsh men and women serving in our armed forces—men and women prepared to give their lives in order to protect the everyday freedoms we all sometimes take for granted. If it wasn’t for the dedication of these men and women, and those like them who went before, we would not be having this debate today. Welsh men and women died in their tens of thousands in order to keep our nation free from tyranny. We owe them so much: more than we can ever repay. The very least we can do is look after our service personnel, both serving and retired. While we have got much better at supporting our armed forces personnel and veterans, we still have a long way to go regarding post-traumatic stress disorder, housing, and all other things that go with coming back from a war that we are suffering from.

The armed forces covenant has helped address some of the shortfalls, and UKIP shares the Welsh Conservatives’ belief that Wales should be at the forefront of implementing the covenant, and that Wales needs an armed forces commissioner. The Welsh Government have improved the support given to our armed forces, but there is still much more we can do, particularly when it comes to housing and welfare for ex-service personnel and their families. Eight per cent of the ex-service community reported to the British Legion that they were experiencing housing difficulties. We must ensure that the service personnel are guaranteed housing, particularly when you consider that veterans are less likely to be employed than the general population.

We must also ensure that schemes like the Veterans’ NHS Wales service are strengthened and widely promoted. Unfortunately, the website is hugely out of date and still refers to the Welsh Assembly Government. An armed forces and veterans commissioner will not only be able to drive improvements to services for armed forces personnel and veterans, but also champion our service personnel. Other nations treat their service personnel with the reverence and respect they deserve. We do need to do much better. It is no good paying lip service on Remembrance Day once a year; we should be thanking those who serve, and those who have served, on a daily basis, and, even then, we can’t even come close to acknowledging the debt we owe those brave men and women. Diolch yn fawr.