Reflecting on more recent conflicts, particularly with recent events in Afghanistan, I think it is right and appropriate that we take a moment today to recognise all those men and women who served in Afghanistan. And I would also like to place on record my thanks to all those who provided much-needed assistance—those people who bravely worked alongside our forces and are now in the process of relocating here from Afghanistan. I think we all agree that we owe them a warm Welsh welcome for what they did. 

We are committed to supporting our military community and are proud of the serving personnel and the positive impact our armed forces and their families bring to communities. So, we absolutely continue to impress on the UK Government the importance of the armed forces maintaining a presence and footprint in Wales that is commensurate to the contribution that Wales makes to the armed forces, including the numbers of men and women from Wales who serve in our armed forces.

I'd like to take this opportunity to place on record our gratitude to the men and women of our armed services who continue to help our nation overcome the unprecedented challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. They have stepped up and provided vital support from the vaccine roll-out to assisting the Welsh ambulance service trust, delivering PPE and even food distribution. I'm sure that Members join me today in thanking them for everything that they have done.

Remembrance serves as an opportunity to remember the veterans of yesterday, but to also reaffirm our support for the veterans of today and to redouble our efforts for the veterans of tomorrow. In June, I launched the Welsh Government's third armed forces covenant annual report, capturing our ongoing commitment to the armed forces community. The report underlines what can be achieved when we work collaboratively across all sectors. And we've provided additional funding for Veterans' NHS Wales, bringing their funding to £920,000 per year, which is a 35 per cent increase to support veterans requiring help with mental health issues. Support can also be found through our 24/7 CALL mental health helpline—support we are committed to continuing.

The Welsh Government introduced the Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative in November 2020 to provide ex-service personnel with the option of joining the civil service. Through our employment action group, we are backing a service leavers and veterans employment event being held later this month, which will give employers the opportunity to learn about the transferrable skills of veterans, and, for veterans, the opportunity to hopefully gain future employment.

We've also worked in partnership with colleagues in the Scottish Government and Business in the Community to launch our 'Capitalising on Military Family Talent' document, which sets out available employer support for spouses and partners of serving personnel. And we have worked closely with the Ministry of Defence to develop a new family strategy for serving personnel, which will provide the support and information needed, whether it's advice on childcare support or support for children in education. Closer to home, we've invested £250,000 per year in Supporting Service Children in Education—SSCE Cymru—to provide advice and support for service children in Wales. Following a successful bid to the covenant fund for SSCE, I've appointed four service children regional schools liaison officers and they're actively engaging with and supporting schools to understand the needs of service children.

We continue to invest £275,000 each year in our armed forces liaison officers. They're our valued eyes and ears on the ground, and every time I have meetings with representatives from Governments elsewhere in the UK, they very much recognise the role and the value of those AFLOs. They continue to make good progress on the delivery of services for the armed forces community, including things like delivering mental health first aid courses to the armed forces community and support organisations, training for local authority staff, police forces, health boards and bespoke sessions for members of staff in the Department for Work and Pensions to raise awareness of the needs of veterans and their families, alongside working with military charities to set up veterans' hubs in local authorities to combat loneliness and provide support and advice.

During Armed Forces Week, we launched our first Wales resettlement guide. This was developed in collaboration with the Career Transition Partnership and the 160th (Welsh) Brigade and highlights the support available for serving personnel and their families returning to civilian life in Wales. These achievements, along with many others, can be credited to our collaborative approach. At ministerial level we meet biannually with our armed forces experts group, and later this year our three armed forces chiefs in Wales will, at the invitation of the First Minister, be invited to attend a meeting of the Cabinet where we can further strengthen our established and positive working relationships.

In closing, Dirprwy Lywydd, I want to briefly return to the focus of today’s remembrance debate. The motion asks us to honour the service and sacrifice of past and present serving personnel. It also provides for the opportunity to thank our current armed forces for their continued and valuable support in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and to pay tribute to the work of the Royal British Legion as it celebrates its centenary year. It reaffirms our support for the armed forces community. And, of course, we, each and every one of us, should strive for a peaceful resolution to conflict and for an end to all wars. We remember all those who've lost their lives in wars and conflicts, and those who've suffered both mental and physical injury. We say a heartfelt 'thank you' as we pay tribute to the bravery and sacrifice of our armed forces, our veterans and their families.