Colonel Phillips will report directly to the Secretary of State for Wales, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and the UK Minister for Defence People and Veterans. As the Secretary of State for Wales said:

'The Armed Forces have a long and important tradition in Wales and we are exceptionally proud of our Welsh veterans. Our ex-servicemen and women and their families deserve recognition, support and respect throughout the duration of their service and beyond.'

The appointment of a Veterans' Commissioner for Wales will increase and co-ordinate the support available, and highlights the UK Government's commitment to the welfare of the men and women who serve our armed forces. I stated:

'This new role will help ensure that no veteran will be left without appropriate support, and we wish Colonel Phillips all the best in his new job and look forward to working with him', adding it is vital that the Labour Welsh Government Ministers

'work hand-in-hand with the commissioner as many of the services our Armed Forces community rely on are devolved to Wales.'

I was therefore also pleased to read the statement by the Welsh Government Deputy Minister for Social Partnership, Hannah Blythyn—I'm pleased to see her in the Chamber—that,

'Wales provides a wide range of support for veterans...and we are committed to working with stakeholders to supporting all those who have served.'

She also said that:

'The Veterans’ Commissioner for Wales is a UK Government appointment. We look forward to working with Colonel James Phillips as part of our commitment to veterans across Wales.'

I therefore hope that the Welsh Government will support our motion today, which also asks this Welsh Parliament to welcome the appointment of Colonel James Phillips as the first Veterans' Commissioner for Wales, and to call on the Welsh Government to work with the veterans' commissioner and the UK Government to ensure that the armed forces covenant is upheld in Wales.

The Welsh Government's covenant annual report for 2020 described two main achievements: an established funding provision for Veterans' NHS Wales, which enables veterans with mental health issues to receive appropriate support, and funding the armed forces liaison officers until 2023 to embed covenant guidelines in local authorities across Wales. 

Although the armed forces expert group welcomed the report, it submitted eight key priorities for the Welsh Government to address in this Senedd term, including developing a national plan to implement changes from the Armed Forces Act 2011, committing to permanently fund the supporting service children in education Wales fund, and extending housing priority to cover five years post leaving military service. The veterans' commissioner can play a key role in areas such as these.

It is almost 17 years since I first raised the need for traumatised ex-forces personnel to access mental health care and receive priority treatment. The Welsh Government did eventually launch Veterans' NHS Wales five years later, providing veterans living in Wales with non-residential assessment and psychological treatment for mental health problems, including PTSD. As Veterans' NHS Wales told me last November, they were grateful for their funding increase this financial year to keep the staff employed that Help for Heroes funded for three years. They added, however, that there were several other funding requests in their business case that Welsh Government failed to fund, including NHS-employed peer mentors and increased psychiatrist sessions—currently only one day per month. The veterans' commissioner can therefore also play a role on key issues such as these. Diolch yn fawr.