The following amendments have been selected: amendment 1 in the name of Julie James, and amendments 2 and 3 in the name of Rhun ap Iorwerth.

The next item is the Welsh Conservatives debate, and I call on Mark Isherwood to move the motion—Mark Isherwood.

Motion NDM6571 Paul Davies

To propose that the National Assembly for Wales:

1. Welcomes the Cross Party Group on the Armed Forces and Cadets's inquiry into the impact of the armed forces covenant in Wales and notes its recommendations.

2. Calls on the Welsh Government to consider the recommendations put forward by the inquiry to ensure all available support is provided for military personnel, veterans and their families in Wales.

Motion moved.

Diolch, Llywydd. The Royal British Legion officially launched its Honour the Covenant Campaign in London in September 2007 and in Wales there was an event held in this National Assembly the following month.

Since the early nineteenth century, men and women have served and fought for their country under the terms of the military covenant, which states that those who serve in the armed forces, whether regular or reserved, those who have served in the past and their families should face no disadvantage compared to other citizens in the provision of public and commercial services. Special consideration, it says, is appropriate in some cases, especially for those who have given most, such as the injured and the bereaved.

Having been the guest speaker at the Royal British Legion north Wales district annual conference the previous weekend, I did a short debate here in January 2008 supporting the legion's campaign, and I concluded that this must be fought until it is won and that the Welsh Government must do everything within its power to assist this.

The armed forces covenant was published in May 2011, introducing a statutory duty from 2012 to lay an annual report before the UK Parliament that considers the effects of service on regulars and reservists, veterans, their families and the bereaved and also to examine areas of potential disadvantage and the need for special provision where appropriate. The Welsh Government and all local authorities in Wales signed the covenant and subscribed to work with partner organisations to uphold its principles.

The UK Government's 2017 response to the Defence Select Committee report, which followed the 2016 armed forces covenant annual report, commented on progress in Wales. In spite of this, however, there has not yet been an independent review of progress and delivery across Wales since the establishment of the covenant.

In September 2016, a number of armed forces charities working in Wales answered a call for submissions to inform the upcoming priorities for the Assembly's Equality, Local Government and Communities Committee, stating that there would be considerable merit in the committee undertaking a review of the implementation of the armed forces covenant in Wales. As no indication was received to suggest that an inquiry was planned, the Assembly cross-party group on the armed forces and cadets took a decision to undertake the inquiry that is the subject of this debate. Our motion, therefore, proposes that the National Assembly for Wales welcomes the cross-party group's report, notes its recommendations and calls on the Welsh Government to consider those recommendations.

Having considered the evidence received, the report made 23 recommendations in seven areas. It found that, in order to uphold the covenant, the Welsh Government should consider the appointment of an armed forces commissioner for Wales to improve the accountability of public sector organisations for the delivery of the armed forces covenant. The commissioner should be required to publish an annual report to be laid in the National Assembly for Wales on adherence to the covenant. A commissioner would support the specific needs of veterans, represent these to Welsh Government and properly scrutinise service delivery for veterans carried out by Welsh Government, NHS Wales and local authorities.

The Deputy Presiding Officer (Ann Jones) took the Chair.

As with the other recommendations in this report, this role has been supported and endorsed by the armed forces community and armed service heads. The report calls for the Welsh Government to establish key performance indicators for devolved public sector organisations in Wales to monitor adherence to the covenant; to supplement its Welcome to Wales initiative with a single national armed forces helpline for service personnel, veterans and their families; to work with a ministerial expert group to identify priority projects and co-ordinate funding bids at an all-Wales level; and work with the third sector to deliver a compulsory public sector e-learning module to support awareness of the armed forces covenant.

The report recommends that the Welsh Government should continue to work with both the UK Government and the Office for National Statistics to ensure that the questions in the 2021 census are sufficient to identify both the size and needs of the armed forces and veteran community in Wales.

It calls on the Welsh Government to establish a Welsh armed forces privilege card scheme. Given the concerns over the capacity of Veterans NHS Wales to meet the demands of patients and its variable waiting times, the report recommended that funding for the service should be reviewed and increased; targets for access to the service should be established, and performance against the targets should be regularly published. 

Waiting lists for Veterans NHS Wales are nine months in the Swansea area and average five to six months elsewhere. Although they've secured three years' extra funding from Help for Heroes to employ three full-time therapists to bring waiting lists down, they expect waiting times to rise again without additional investment. Although the Welsh Government has announced £100,000 additional funding, Veterans NHS Wales told the cross-party group last year that they need £1 million annually to meet the mental health needs of the armed forces community in Wales, and therefore reduce pressure and cost on other services.

When Andrew R. T. Davies and I met a group of women veterans earlier this year, all of whom had suffered injuries on service, and all of whom told us that they were also dealing with mental health issues as a consequence of their service, they told us that, quote, 'It's now taking three months to get an appointment with Veterans NHS Wales, and then three to six months to see a specialist, who can then only deal with mild to medium trauma, because there are no acute services.' And they're having to travel to England for treatment for their mental health and rely on charities.

The report also called on the Welsh Government to develop an action plan to promote greater awareness of priority NHS treatment for service-related injuries and illnesses amongst health service staff; to ensure that family members of service personnel posted to Wales who are on an NHS waiting list are not disadvantaged by having to wait longer for treatment than they would prior to being posted to Wales; to review and update the 'A guide to improving the health and well-being of prisoners in Wales who are veterans' document; and to provide core funding to third sector partners delivering peer mentoring schemes.

Although Change Step, led by the charity Cais, has secured 12 months' funding from Help for Heroes to embed a peer mentor into each Welsh health board, Veterans NHS Wales highlights the need for additional funding to keep the peer mentors in post as part of their core team, to mirror the Scottish veteran model.

In 2007, the Legion's Honour the Covenant campaign already noted that veterans who are not assisted by Ministry of Defence-supported Combat Stress, or another specialist organisation, need to be able to access mental health care and receive priority treatment. With the announcement that Combat Stress is scrapping residential care at its Audley Court centre in Shropshire, we must also address concerns that Welsh veterans will now be forced to travel across the UK for residential care, because there is no provision in Wales.

In recognition of the specific challenges faced by children from service families, and in order to address the disadvantage compared to other parts of the UK, the report recommended that the Welsh Government should consider the introduction of a service pupil premium. As the Royal British Legion states, in England, this has provided important practical support to service children in education. Schools in Wales should have access to a similar fund for the approximately 2,500 children who currently attend schools in Wales.

The report also calls for regional education consortia to appoint armed forces champions; flexibility for Welsh secondary schools to allow the children of service personnel to be enrolled mid term, as is already the case for infant classes; and more schools to participate in the cadet expansion programme. The report recommends extension of the successful Cymru'n Cofio Wales Remembers first world war project to enable other important military anniversaries to be marked. And it calls on the Welsh Government to work with the Welsh Local Government Association to ensure that all of Wales's civic war memorials are adequately maintained, and with Wales's military museums to establish travelling exhibitions.

The report calls for development of further partnerships between registered social landlords and the third sector to support additional supported housing accommodation for vulnerable veterans in Wales, and for registered social landlords to waive local connection requirements for former partners of service personnel leaving service family accommodation.

Finally, the report calls for the Welsh Government to establish an employment scheme to assist service leavers, veterans and reservists, and support the partners of service personnel when their partners are posted to Wales. For the second year running, the Welsh Government has said that it is developing an employment pathway, but Veterans NHS Wales figures show that only a third are employed. One hundred years after the signing of the treaty that led to the end of the first world war, this is a covenant that must endure.

Thank you. I have selected the three amendments to the motion, and I call on the Cabinet Secretary for Local Government and Public Services to move formally amendment 1.

Amendment 1 Julie James

Add as new point at end of motion:

Welcomes the Welsh Government support that is provided for military personnel, veterans and their families in Wales, including:

a) The collaborative approach of the multi-agency expert group to considering issues affecting the Armed Forces community and collective means of addressing these issues;

b) the additional £100k a year funding for the Veterans' NHS Wales service, to enhance its capacity and improve its ability to help veterans in need;

c) clarity on the wide range of services available through delivery of its key policy documents Package of Support, Welcome to Wales and the Housing Referral Pathway; and

d) appointment of pan-Wales Armed Forces Liaison Officers to ensure a consistent approach in the delivery of the Covenant.

Amendment 1 moved.

Formally.

Thank you. I call on Steffan Lewis to move amendments 2 and 3, tabled in the name of Rhun ap Iorwerth. Steffan.

Amendment 2 Rhun ap Iorwerth

Add as new point at end of motion:

Calls on the Welsh Government to update the National Assembly for Wales on the implementation of the National Housing Pathway for Ex-Service Personnel.

Amendment 3 Rhun ap Iorwerth

Add as new point at end of motion:

Welcomes the decision to include questions about service in the armed forces in the National Rough Sleeping Count and calls on the Welsh Government to publish the data collected.

Amendments 2 and 3 moved.

Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. It's a pleasure for me to move formally the amendments in the name of Rhun ap Iorwerth.

On Remembrance Day, two weeks ago, people from all communities came together to remember those who'd lost their lives in all conflicts, and, in particular, those who died in the first world war. During the remembrance period, of course, it is our opportunity to reflect upon the sacrifice of all those, past and present, who have served in our armed forces. We thank them for what they do on our behalf.

Earlier this year, we marked the centenary of the battle of Passchendaele, one of the bloodiest events of the first world war. Half a million men from both sides died fighting over just 5 miles of land. It was an unimaginable and senseless tragedy. Over the next few years, there will be more centenaries. We will remember the horrors of the first world war and the millions of people who lost their lives. We will also remember the men who returned from war, traumatised, brutalised, to find a society without enough work or housing and that didn't yet understand the effects that their experience would have on them.

Today, we can do better to support those who have served on our behalf and for their families. Plaid Cymru welcomes very much the report of the cross-party group on armed forces and cadets, and I pay tribute to the chair of the cross-party group for his leadership and the work that has been undertaken. It is encouraging to see that good progress has been made, and the report also sets out a number of important recommendations to further improve the services available.

The national housing pathway for veterans serves an important role in providing additional support to former servicepeople and their families. Finding housing, perhaps after many years in the armed forces and in an unfamiliar area, can be daunting and difficult, but it is key to ensuring that those leaving the forces find stability. Plaid Cymru's first amendment to the debate today calls for an update on the implementation of that pathway. Now it has been published, it is important that it forms a routine and active role in the service provision offered to ex-service personnel. It is also sometimes too easy for Government, for guidance documents that it publishes to end up sitting in a drawer and for them not to form a constant feature in informing day-to-day practice by front-line staff. I hope that the Government will update the Assembly on the roll-out of the pathway and the monitoring that they are doing of its effectiveness.

Good data about the demand for additional support and the success of what is already available is crucial. It is, therefore, to be welcomed that the national rough sleeping count survey includes a question about service in the armed forces. Plaid Cymru's second amendment, therefore, today calls for that data to be published, so that it can be used by both Government and third sector organisations, and other public services, to guide the work that they do. If we can identify the way that homelessness and service in the armed forces are linked, we can better tackle the causes of the problems that it raises.

As a nation, we make a collective promise to those who serve in the armed forces that they and their families will be treated fairly. At this time of year, as we remember the sacrifices they make, we also have a duty to consider whether we are upholding that promise. I hope the Welsh Government will accept the recommendations of the cross-party group report in full and constantly strive to improve the support it provides to them.

This year marks the centenary of the third battle of Ypres. This terrible battle has come to symbolise the horrors associated with the first world war. It is frequently known by the name of the village where it culminated, Passchendaele. Although there is no-one left alive today who served in what was called 'the war to end all wars', it reminds us of the enormous debt we owe to those who are serving and who have served in our armed forces. It is estimated there could be as many as 230,000 veterans in Wales alone.

Sadly, in some cases, it is clear we are not providing our veterans with the care and support they richly deserve. Leaving the military after a long period of service presents many challenges. Often, it involves having to relocate, find a new home, new employment and a change of lifestyle—in some cases, drastic lifestyle. However, as this report highlights, the delivery of services for our armed forces community can be inconsistent. This is a direct result of lack of awareness about what the armed forces covenant means in practice and operation.

I believe we need an armed forces commissioner in Wales to co-ordinate and provide the support our veterans deserve from public sector organisations. This commissioner would enhance the work of the Veterans' Gateway helpline being set up in Nantgarw, providing a new 24-hour service for armed forces veterans from across the United Kingdom returning to civilian life. Housing, health and other services have often failed to meet their needs, and this can lead to social isolation and reduced health and well-being also. 

Safe and secure housing is vital for veterans when entering civil life. There are a number of schemes in Wales that recognise this. We, on this side of the Chamber, believe that quickly delivering appropriate housing would be complemented by a veteran needs assessment as soon as possible and at early stages. This could form the basis for service delivery and provide solid evidence to close any gaps in provision. A number of veterans become homeless due to an inability to come to terms with their traumatic experiences, to the extent that they interrupt everyday tasks. 

Post-traumatic stress disorder is an anxiety disorder caused by experiencing distressful and distressing events—in and during the war. In some cases, it can lead to an increase in alcohol and drug misuse. The symptoms of mental ill health need to be recognised early, and greater support is required in this area also. The Welsh Government recently announced additional funding to increase consultant psychiatrist sessions by 50 per cent—this is very welcome news. It is vital that this additional funding is used to develop Wales-wide improvements to the service. No veteran in need of specialist support should be left languishing on a waiting list.

The education of children of service personnel can also suffer due to a disrupted lifestyle. The pupil deprivation grant is only available to the children eligible for free school meals. Deputy Presiding Officer, most servicemen and women's children do not meet this criteria. In England, there is a service pupil premium of £300,000 per child, payable direct to the schools. No such premium exists in Wales, leaving service children here disadvantaged compared to those living in England. The Welsh Government should introduce a service pupil premium to address this issue.

Deputy Presiding Officer, I personally have experienced this in life: the armed forces, they are there to give the extreme sacrifice to the nation. And they're not only done to this nation; they're done globally. I am personally an example. When, in 1947, India was divided, it was the Royal Air Force officers, who my family owes for the rest of our children and grandchildren—they flew us from Delhi to Peshawar, with my mother and father and three children, empty-handed. That was actually the scenario of the second world war, which I think—. The Royal Air Force has not only given to this country, but the whole world. Our service personnel have never let us down. I hope that this National Assembly will acknowledge this by voting for this motion today. Thank you.

Thanks to the Conservatives for bringing today's debate on the important subject of the armed forces covenant. We agree, in UKIP, that a high priority should be given to the welfare of both people serving in the forces and veterans. We are also keen to see the encouragement of cadet activity. So, we broadly share the enthusiasms of the Conservative group in this area, and we commend the energy of Darren Millar in getting together a very knowledgeable group of people as his advisers on the cross-party group, which he has been involved in setting up. I know that Mark Isherwood has been very active as well. The group has come up with some sound recommendations, which we fully support.

We also acknowledge that the armed forces covenant has been well supported in Wales—to a large measure, down to the efforts of the Welsh Government. So, I am going to be supportive today of their efforts as well. Now, I remember Carl Sargeant, in a debate a few weeks ago on housing matters, admonishing me somewhat because he felt I wasn't supportive enough of what the Welsh Government was doing in that area. Now, I slightly disagreed with Carl on that point, as I did on a few points, in fact, because I felt it was my job, as an opposition Member, to question him on things rather than just offer phrases of support. But I think it is generally acknowledged that, in the sphere of the armed forces covenant, we have made good progress in Wales, and I think Carl's efforts were a big factor in that. So, I would like to acknowledge that today.

Now, the point of the cross-party group is to ensure that things continue to progress, that we all focus on the right priorities regarding armed forces and veterans' issues, and those priorities have been agreed by the cross-party group in close concert with groups representing the armed forces and veterans themselves. The Welsh Government also has its own multi-agency expert group; so, it's good to see that everyone is working collaboratively in this area.

Housing is a recurring factor in several of the priorities that have been expressed by the CPG report. We do have a problem with veterans becoming homeless. It is currently estimated that some 7,000 ex-service people are homeless in the UK. We don't know how many there are in Wales, and there are hopes expressed in the report that the rough-sleeping count could capture some important details regarding this. So, hopefully, we can use this data in future to obtain crucial information in this area.

There are also issues around the provision of housing for serving and former members of the armed forces and their families, which have been alluded to earlier. These form part of the priorities in the CPG report, and we support the report's objective of making it easier for services families to obtain good housing. Another important provision is the pupil premium, and there are stiff challenges over mental health provisions, which must be addressed, to which Mark Isherwood was referring earlier.

In terms of the amendments set out today, we are happy to support all of the amendments. The Government point out their own progress, which we are happy to acknowledge. Plaid Cymru have looked particularly at the homelessness issue, and they call for an update on the implementation of the national housing pathway. We also support that call. Plaid also want measures put in place to obtain strong data on the homeless figures. They want the Government to publish the figures collated in the national rough-sleeping count. Again, that would be a good step forward, and we fully support that call.

So, to summarise, we have made good progress in implementing the armed forces covenant here in Wales, and I do believe, in many respects, we compare well with England, but we need to keep on the ball. So, this report is very welcome, and UKIP are very keen to support the recommendations of the report.

I welcome the opportunity to speak in this debate this afternoon, and I welcome the Minister to his role. I think this is the first debate that he will have contributed in since taking that role. But it'd also be opportune to pay tribute to the former Minister, Carl Sargeant, who, I think, on two occasions in Government, held this particular portfolio responsibility. It was a responsibility that he had a lot of pride in and obviously achieved a lot of success as well. I can remember many debates that we brought forward over the years that Carl responded to. It is pleasing to see on a cross-party basis many of the points that were brought forward in that debate, such as better access to healthcare, improvements in housing and, importantly, genuine reporting back to the Assembly on the initiatives that the Welsh Government are taking forward to try and make the lot of our armed services that much better when they get discharged from the military. Because it is important to reflect that Wales, as a country, with about 5 per cent of the population of the United Kingdom, put forward about 10, 12 per cent of the armed services personnel historically and, in today’s much smaller armed forces footprint, we still have a far bigger percentage of Welsh service personnel in all aspects of the military. So, it is important that, as the Parliament of Wales, we do watch what the Government's doing, point out where the Government might be going wrong, laud them where they are making progress, and this report goes a long way in trying to offer a road map, with a series of recommendations to try and seek those improvements.

I do think it's important to reflect on the work of the cross-party group. The cross-party group, under the very able chairmanship of Darren Millar, has succeeded in raising the profile of the armed services here in the Assembly, and also the Assembly within the armed forces community, because I think that’s really important. It was only some 12 months ago that several Members from this institution tromped up to the Sennybridge training camp and saw the wonderment that is the training programme that the army put on for their soldiers. Some engaged far more willingly than others, putting the camouflage gear on and face paint. I think that they were just aspiring to be soldiers themselves—the chairman, in particular, trying to do that. In recent times, in September, obviously spending some time with the RAF in Valley, and seeing the footprint up in north Wales as to the great work—and, considering it's very close to the centenary of the RAF, how appropriate that was for the all-party group to attend RAF Valley and see what a great economic boost to the island Valley is. Because the many personnel that they bring on to the island obviously leave with fond memories and come back over the years as well. I know that there’s a commitment from the navy to, obviously, host the all-party group as well.

So, I do hope that the Minister, in his contribution this afternoon, will engage with the report and ultimately map out how he would take forward some—or, indeed, all—of the recommendations in it. Because they are made from the armed forces community, because, being a cross-party group, obviously, the community came together in compiling this report. It is worth noting that the call for a commissioner to be put in place to support the Government’s work and, obviously, to report back to the Assembly on progress in some of the areas that need progress isn’t on the lines of the Children’s Commissioner for Wales or the Older People's Commissioner for Wales, which is a different commissioner altogether. Scotland have a very good role model that we could look to, and it can be done with very modest means and drive forward progress in this field. I also think that the recommendations in the report that obviously capture, at the moment, the centenary commemorations around the first world war are worthy of consideration, as to how those commemorations can, as we go forward, be taken on. Because, obviously, as has been pointed out earlier, there are no veterans left from those conflicts now, and it is incumbent on us to make sure that future generations do have the ability to remember, recall, and ultimately never forget those tragic lessons that we needed to learn to defend our democracy and defend our way of life. Again, I do commend the Government on the way that they have put those events together, but I do believe that, as the report highlights, it does need to have some thought now as to what we do post the commemorations and the series of commemorations on other conflicts that the armed forces have been engaged with.

I was very pleased to see such prominence around the military covenant. Because it was the current mayor of the Vale of Glamorgan, Councillor Janice Charles, when she was the cabinet member back in 2009, I think it was, who signed the Vale of Glamorgan Council up to be the first council in Wales to be signed up to the military covenant. Now, I’m very pleased to say that all 22 local authorities are signed up to the commitments within that covenant. But, above all, what is really important, I think, is to focus on the positives that the military can offer a young person who wishes to seek a career in our armed forces. It is right that we focus on the support that we put in place for people coming out of the armed services. But, if I could just close on this one point, Deputy Presiding Officer, it is worth reflecting that, when people do go into the workplace, coming out of the military, there is a high recognition for the experience of working in and leading teams, flexibility and the ability to work in stressful, fast-paced, dynamic environments, a dependable and strong work ethic, displaying integrity and loyalty, and expertise in culturally diverse and global working environments. Those are the characteristics that any employer would be very pleased to welcome into their team in civvy street, as it were, and I do believe that sometimes we do need to be promoting more about the positives that the armed forces can offer young people, from wherever they might come, and in particular with the great tradition we have here in Wales of providing a higher number of service personnel than maybe our percentage of the overall population of the UK. So, I hope the Chamber will find support for this motion before it today.

Can I say that I thought it was very important the cross-party group commended the partnerships formed with the voluntary sector, because these can lead to some of the most innovative and relevant services that are available to our veterans? I want to mention one particular example in particular, and that's Woody's Lodge, which is based at HMS Cambria in Sully. I think quite a few people in this Chamber have visited it, and indeed they have held an event here in the Senedd, which I believe was sponsored by Jane Hutt.

It's an outstanding project, and it's one that provides services for armed forces veterans, recent leavers, which is a key group, I think, and reservists—many people now serve in our reserve forces, and they see combat and then come back and are working in our emergency services or the NHS or in the private sector, whatever. I think ongoing help for those people is very important. Also, Woody's Lodge has extended its services to emergency services—the uniformed services that often face profound trauma in pursuance of their duties. 

As its own mission statement says, it is there to provide a space for people to find themselves, and I think that's very, very important—that, after harsh experiences, people are given that space, but also the ability, with many people who will directly share their experiences, to reminisce on the positives as well. And, you know, there are many benefits to be had from serving in our armed forces.

The team at Woody's Lodge give support and guidance on a one-to-one basis and provide in particular help with benefits, health matters, and ways to build up confidence and self-esteem, which some people have lost, especially having left the type of atmosphere and daily routine you get in the armed forces, and then have perhaps not quite fitted back into civvy street very effectively, and then years later find themselves without any self-esteem or confidence to get out and get a job.

So, I think these are very, very important services that help, and, of course, they have a range of key partners to help in this excellent work. It really is a model of effective joint working. They work with the Royal British Legion, Age Cymru, the NHS—particularly mental health services—the Department of Work and Pensions, and many others. I would like to mention, as we've been talking about the first world war, that veterans of the second world war are now in advanced old age, over 90. There's a special project running at Woody's Lodge, Project 360 Degrees, which is  a project aimed at older veterans, which is led by Age Cymru and funded by the aged veterans fund. I think it's excellent, the work that they're doing there.

Woody's Lodge wouldn't be there if it wasn't for the group of volunteers that have raised a remarkable amount of money, both from the public sector grant bodies, but also from the private sector. I would commend the work of Dr David Trotman in this area, which has been an inspiration.

Deputy Presiding Officer, I would like to talk about one other issue—it was mentioned by my colleague Mark Isherwood—and that's the need for better data on veterans. I think we're all aware of the campaign by the British legion to have a question on the national census about service in the armed forces, and I was very pleased to sign up to that campaign, as I know many, many other Assembly Members did as well. But I think we should also put pressure on the Office for National Statistics, together with the UK and the Welsh Governments, to improve data collection on veterans whenever possible, because with better data we would be able to shape better services for veterans. I think that's a very, very important part of the covenant we have with them when they have performed these services on our behalf. For many, many reasons, including the humanitarian reasons that Mohammad Asghar referred to, they really are deserving of the fullest support we can give them, and I'm very pleased to support this motion.

Thank you. I call on the Cabinet Secretary for Local Government and Public Services—Alun Davies.

Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. I'd like to start my contribution this afternoon by paying tribute to the work of Carl Sargeant, who didn't just lead but drove much of the work on this area. Members on all sides of the Chamber have paid tribute to Carl and his work during this debate this afternoon and it is testament to the work that he did as a portfolio holder responsible for the work on the armed forces in Wales that we are where we are today. I think all of us owe a great debt of gratitude to Carl Sargeant for the work he did in this field.

At the same time, I'm also grateful to Darren Millar for the work he does as chair of the all-party group on the armed forces. I think, in fact, I was a founding member of that group some time ago. It demonstrates the value and importance of cross-party groups that we have a report in front of us this afternoon of the quality that we have seen. I will say that Darren has written to me as chair of the all-party group, inviting me to a future meeting. That's an invitation I'm very grateful of and will be glad to accept. I would be delighted to attend a meeting of the group to consider the report and the recommendations that they've made. I think all the recommendations are well founded in terms of the arguments made for them and reinforce the very real debt that we owe to our armed forces. 

We've heard this afternoon that November is a time of remembrance. It is a time to reflect on the contribution of the armed forces to our country and the debt that we owe all those who have served. I think we have a very real responsibility, as we remember the terrible events of a century ago, to also remember those who are living in our communities today who have served in more recent conflict. We have an absolute responsibility to all those who have served in the armed forces and I hope that the Government's work does set out to not just deliver on the words of that covenant but on the spirit of it as well.

Members will be aware that I made a written statement on this matter some weeks ago, and in that written statement I sought to set out the Welsh Government's support for the armed forces community. We are making good progress throughout Wales, as Members have acknowledged, and I'm confident that we can build on this success by continuing this approach, sharing resources and best practice. The motion is a motion that this Government will seek to amend and support. We will also support both of the Plaid Cymru amendments. 

I want to look positively at all the recommendations of the report of the cross-party group and look at how we can continue to build upon the foundations that we've made. I see the motion and the report as building upon the good work already completed by the Welsh Government and complementary to that work. I see this report as contributing to a positive vision of the future and enabling us as Welsh Government, with the armed forces community, to work to continue to deliver support and services for our armed forces community.

We know already that many positive steps have been taken to improve the support available to veterans and their families. This progress has been acknowledged and I hope that our amendment to this motion recognises that. It also seeks to recognise the important role played by the armed forces expert group. With its strong multi-agency membership, it will continue to help us to identify issues affecting the armed forces community and work to address all of those issues. I'm pleased that the group, for example, is considering the links between early service leavers and adverse childhood experiences. We recognise that more needs to be done to understand why members of the military choose to leave the services early, and I give an undertaking, Deputy Presiding Officer, that I will share the findings with Members as soon as we're able to do so.

The expert group has previously considered the idea of having an armed forces commissioner. Whilst I'm not yet convinced that a commissioner would add value to the structures we already have in place, I am open to that conversation. That is not a door I wish to close this afternoon; it is a conversation I wish to have and a conversation that I welcome. I also welcome the Office for National Statistics recent announcement that the 2021 census will include questions to identify the size and needs of the armed forces community in Wales. Members will be aware that part of the expert group has previously explored the idea of a veterans ID card, and concluded that it would be of limited value. It was agreed to publicise and promote the defence privilege card as a preferred option. This was a highly successful campaign, with an increase in the membership of 89 per cent compared with 39 per cent in the rest of the United Kingdom, enabling members to access discounts across a broad range of outlets.

There is a wealth of support available to our armed forces community in Wales. As set out in our amendment, we are working with key partners to raise awareness of the services in place for both serving and ex-service personnel and their families. I hope that our evolving policies will continue to reflect their changing needs, and I give an undertaking to the Chamber—. The Conservative leader asked us if we would continue to report back to the Chamber; I give that undertaking this afternoon that we will continue to report back to the Chamber on a regular basis on the progress that is being made.

At the same time, Deputy Presiding Officer, Veterans' NHS Wales continues to progress. Established in 2010, this service has received approximately 2,900 referrals to date. Its pioneering methods, such as talking therapies and virtual reality techniques, are helping veterans deal with the personal trauma as a result of service experiences. The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Services has already announced an addition £100,000 annual funding to increase capacity within Veterans' NHS Wales, bringing the total amount of Welsh Government funding to nearly £700,000 per year. We give an undertaking that we will continue to look at ways of ensuring that this continues to meet the needs of veterans in our health service. This is the only service of its kind in the United Kingdom, and I hope that we will all join together to applaud its success.

We also know that some veterans may struggle to secure accommodation. Working in partnership with Welsh Government has produced a housing pathway to help veterans and their families to make an informed choice about their accommodation needs on transferring back into civilian life. On this basis, I'm very happy to support Plaid Cymru's amendment 2. The housing pathway is a success, and I would be happy to continue to update Members. I'm also happy to support amendment 3, and I will include this information in future conversations and debates.

The report outlines that service leavers, veterans and reservists may need help to secure employment. I can confirm that the Welsh Government is developing an employment pathway with our key partners. Aiming to identify employment choices and support available, the pathway will provide options for those seeking employment. Our package of support makes clear our commitment to supporting armed forces veterans in Wales. Developed in collaboration with our partners, it includes Welsh Government policy areas, key initiatives and information from other supporting organisations.

I am aware that service children may face challenges as a result of deployment. Whilst I am not yet convinced that our service pupil premium would be the best way forward, I also recognise that this is a conversation that we can continue to have. In correspondence to the Secretary of State for Defence, we have asked for further consideration to be given to the continuation of the service children education support fund. I would also say, Deputy Presiding Officer, we have published a 'Welcome to Wales' package tailored specifically for our service personnel and their families. Members should have no doubt about the importance that this Government attaches to the delivery of the covenant in Wales.

I want to finish my contribution today by saying how proud I am of what we and our partners in the armed forces have achieved in seeking to deliver on the commitment we have made. I will attend the newly established UK ministerial covenant and veterans board. Our presence will help to progress the work of the covenant in collaboration with our United Kingdom colleagues as well as our own armed forces expert group. We all need to learn from each other and to share good practice.

Deputy Presiding Officer, I think the nature and the tone of the debate this afternoon has demonstrated the power of unity across all sides of this Chamber. We owe our armed forces a debt that will never be repaid, but this Government, and this whole Assembly, stands alongside the armed forces community, and we will continue to work collectively together to ensure that all veterans and all service personnel in Wales have the support that they need, require and deserve. Thank you very much. 

Thank you. I call on Darren Millar to reply to the debate. 

Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. Can I thank everybody who has taken part in what I think has been a very important debate on some very decent and good-quality recommendations in a report that was the result of significant work from the cross-party group? I believe that this is a report that has the potential to add to the tremendous work that has already been done here in Wales to improve the lot of veterans and armed forces personnel in our country. As has quite rightly been said by a number of people, we've made significant progress—more progress, I believe, than any other part of the United Kingdom—and that's a record of which I am proud to have had a small part to play in as an Assembly Member working collaboratively with all Members in all parties of this Assembly to bring that agenda forward. 

I also want to pay tribute—as the Minister did and as Andrew R.T. Davies did—to the work of Carl Sargeant as the previous portfolio holder. He was instrumental in ensuring that some of the significant improvements that we've seen in recent years have been delivered. One of the most important parts of that was actually getting the armed forces community together, particularly the voluntary sector, which has often in the past been splintered and siloed and worked in ways that have not been collaborative. The way in which now we have an armed forces conference each year—one in the south, one in the north—has really helped to overcome some of those obstacles.

Quite rightly, a number of third sector organisations have been mentioned in the debate today, from Woody's Lodge that David Melding mentioned, right up to the larger-scale organisations like the Royal British Legion, SSAFA, Combat Stress and others. Many of those organisations are partner members of the cross-party group. They attend on a regular basis and contribute to our work and help to shape our agenda. I want to put on record my thanks to each and every one of them for their contribution too. 

We mustn't ever forget that our armed forces—our British armed forces—have a reach beyond our shores. As Mohammad Asghar quite rightly said, they've had a huge role to play historically around the globe, making a positive contribution in all sorts of different ways to all sorts of nations. In this year where we are commemorating the hundredth anniversary of Armistice Day, the thirty-fifth anniversary of the Falklands conflict, and in the year ahead where we will mark the hundredth anniversary of the establishment of the Royal Air Force, we would do well to remember that our armed forces constantly move from one anniversary to the next in a seamless way. That's why I think it's very important to build on the success that we've seen from the Cymru'n Cofio programme of events that Sir Deian Hopkin put together, and to make sure that that legacy of remembrance continues into the future. 

I'm not going to go through all of the recommendations, but the principal recommendation in this report was the need to have an armed forces commissioner. I'm very pleased, Cabinet Secretary, that you haven't shut the door on that proposal, because we do know that up in Scotland, where they have a veterans commissioner, it has made a difference to the lives of veterans. The cross-party group was very keen to see that principle extended not just for the veteran community, but to have a commissioner that would be responsible for improving the lot of all the armed forces, and ensuring the delivery of the principles of the covenant that Wales has subscribed to. I was very proud of the fact that Wales was the first nation in the UK to see all 22 local authorities subscribing to the covenant, to see its own Government subscribing to the covenant and to see all health boards subscribing to the covenant. We've got champions in all of these places, but having an armed forces commissioner who can hold each of the constituent bodies to account for their delivery against those covenant principles, we believe, as a cross-party group, would make the biggest possible difference to ensuring that the covenant is fully upheld. So, I was pleased to hear you keep the door ajar on that suggestion, and I look forward to working with you in your capacity as the portfolio holder—and it's a very welcome appointment indeed. I know of your dedication and commitment to the armed forces historically and, as you quite rightly said, you've been a founder member of the cross-party group, and we look forward to working with you to deliver as many of these recommendations as possible in the future. So, thank you to everyone who's taken part in the debate and we look forward to the continuing discussions.

Thank you. The proposal is to agree the motion without amendment. Does any Member object? No. [Objection.] That was a bit—. Yes, okay, so we'll defer voting under this item until voting time. You stopped me mid-breath there; you were very lucky.

Voting deferred until voting time.