May I, too, thank the Cabinet Secretary for his statement and, indeed, welcome the statement and all of the excellent work that is being done in this important field? I won’t rehearse issues that already have been raised, but I think it’s important at the beginning to acknowledge the excellent work of the British Legion over a number of years, and also the other charities that operate in this particular field.

My grandfather fought in the first world war, in the battle of the Somme and in Ypres. He survived, but he suffered long-term injuries—injuries that never left him. There was precious little support available for my grandfather at the time, and people didn’t talk about the atrocities that they saw. Things have changed, and there is a great deal more support in this field. But from my past as a GP in my community dealing with veterans especially, but also former members of the RAF, when people leave the armed forces—this is a vitally important time and it's a very difficult time for them, because people who have been living their lives in the armed forces have been in a very close, disciplined society, and a great deal of things are done for them, and their lives run according to that discipline. It’s so different to the outside world and there is a great deal of support work that is being done, but again, as the Cabinet Secretary has recognised, there is more that we could do.

In terms of the health services, I hear what you say about the support that there has been for the health service, but one area of concern for us as GP is that we can’t get hold of the medical details of those who have been members of the armed forces when they come out to us and become members of our society once again. We don’t have those details that have come from what’s happened to them, over a great many years, in many cases—relevant, pertinent medical details that we should know about. And very often, of course, we never access those details, so there is often a challenge for the health service to be able to get hold of those details and to be able to treat ex-service personnel appropriately on the basis of their medical record, and it’s often a very difficult record to get hold of. That’s the only point that I wanted to make this afternoon. I’d like to ask for clarity from the Cabinet Secretary on that issue, because it’s very relevant and pertinent to how we deal with health issues and mental health issues for those people who have served their nation.

But I do welcome very much all of the work that is being done to support our army veterans, our navy veterans and ex-members of the air force. I’m aware that time is against us, but I very much hope and pray that my children and their children will never be compelled to go to war. Thank you very much.