7. Will the First Minister outline how the Welsh Government is supporting serving and retired armed forces personnel and their families in the Cynon Valley? OAQ(5)0682(FM)

We’ve made it clear in ‘Taking Wales Forward’ that our commitment is to support both serving and ex-service personnel and their families, so that they are not disadvantaged by their service.

First Minister, on Saturday I will be attending Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council’s Armed Forces Day event in Aberdare, and I want to applaud RCT for their proactive approach in this issue as councils have such a key role in delivering many of the front-line services personnel and their families rely on. The minutes of the expert group on the needs of the armed forces community in Wales note plans to review the work of armed forces champions. Are you able to give us an update on this important work, how it supports our armed forces and meets their needs?

Yes. I was at Armed Forces Day myself—our Welsh national Armed Forces Day—in Caerphilly on Saturday. Very important to support that event. I now I have to say that the one event that stands out in my mind is a gentleman in uniform coming towards me, shaking my hand, and saying, ‘Well done on the election result’, not realising that Alun Cairns was standing next to me. But, nevertheless, I’ll take that for what it is. But I can say, in terms of the issue itself, the Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Children, who chairs, of course, the armed forces expert group, will be meeting with local authority champions following the summer recess to discuss their role and the support they can give to the armed forces community in their areas, building on, of course, what we have already done as a Government.

First Minister, you’ll know that Nantgarw has recently been chosen as the base for the new 24-hour helpline for armed forces veterans. This will be a great help all over Wales, but also for RCT and Cynon Valley in particular. Now, this is part of the 2014 veterans transition review, which also recommended that local authorities conduct an audit of their social housing provision and see how that does serve armed forces personnel and veterans. Do you agree that Welsh local authorities should take part in this review, and get on with that work as soon as possible?

Yes, it’s very important that they’re able to assess the need in their areas particularly. In terms of housing, we have developed an ex-service personnel housing referral pathway to help them and their families make an informed choice of their accommodation needs on transferring back into civilian life. On top of that, to further promote the pathway, we have developed advice cards for ex-service personnel sleeping rough—too many, I’m afraid, but we know that the problem is there—with leaflets and posters. And these publications will include contact details for the new veterans’ gateway service. It’s designed to be a one-stop shop for veterans and family members to access services and support in one place. So, much has been done already, not just to provide information to those who need housing and are looking for housing, but those who are in desperate need and are sleeping rough.

First Minister, will your Government legislate to guarantee housing and healthcare for veterans who have seen active service?

Well, we’ve done much so far: £585,000 per annum is provided to Veterans’ NHS Wales, a unique service, the only one of its kind in the UK. We know that over 2,900 referrals have been received in that time. Service personnel in need of particular specialist healthcare can access the fast-track referral pathway—that’s a joint initiative between the Defence Medical Services and NHS Wales that prioritises access to secondary care, and that ensures that serving members of the armed forces are not disadvantaged by their service and have the same standard of access to healthcare as that received by any other resident in Wales.