7. What actions will the Minister take to improve services for armed forces veterans in Wales over the next 12 months? OAQ54649

The Welsh Government is committed to supporting our armed forces community. Further to my oral statement yesterday, we will, in partnership with the armed forces expert group and others, continue to progress the key issues identified in our armed forces scoping exercise, building on the work we've already done.

Thank you for the answer, Minister, but I'm sure you'll agree it is essential that veterans and their families are given safe, secure and supported housing when entering civil life. Simply providing leaflets and advice cards does not address the Royal British Legion's concerns about how housing officers who provide the necessary support are able to manage complex cases of free housing for veterans. Deputy Minister, what action are you taking to ensure that local authorities provide the training necessary to skill housing authorities on the correct procedures and options open to veterans in Wales? Thank you.

I absolutely agree that we need to make sure that we support our veterans and our armed forces community, and ensure that there is the trained expertise there to support people, particularly in the period of transition upon leaving the services. We do actually have a specific housing pathway for veterans in Wales. We've worked across portfolios to develop the pathway, which not only provides information and signposts to services, but also the options available.

Members of the armed forces community are classed as a priority if they are currently identified as homeless when leaving the forces. But as I alluded to in my oral statement yesterday, there is currently a review in terms of the priority need in terms of housing, which is expected to report early in the new year. Clearly, we'll look also at that against our scoping exercise, which we recently carried out too, to identify any gaps in services for the armed forces community and veterans, and make sure we build that into the work we've already done to make sure we plug any gaps moving forward.