Support for Veterans

Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Housing and Local Government – in the Senedd at 2:28 pm on 11 December 2019.

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Photo of Angela Burns Angela Burns Conservative 2:28, 11 December 2019

Thank you for the answer, Minister. I trust this will be uncontroversial because, of course, this is an area that we all care about. We must look after these individuals who've served our country and are now turning to the state for support.

I've got one constituent in his 30s who very much answers to that description of being a veteran: he's encountered a relationship breakdown, he's struggling with addictions and isolation issues since leaving the armed forces, and is suffering from some form of post-traumatic stress, it would appear. Now, when my office have tried to engage with local services, we've found it really hard to get them to really buy into the fact that he's a veteran. There are local organisations, such as the VC Gallery in Haverfordwest and some of the churches in Pembroke, that have been absolutely outstanding and have tried to offer support every which way they can.

Now, I know you have a veterans pathway, but what could you do, Minister, do you think, to ensure that it's adequately signposted to make sure that veterans are automatically referred to the right services when seeking help from the statutory bodies?