AFC0073

Written evidence submitted by the Veterans’ Commissioner for Wales.

A Covenant That Relies on Goodwill and Risks Drowning in Disadvantage

The Armed Forces Covenant operates in a very British way in Wales. It has no teeth, even with the untested legal duty of the “Due Regard”, so it only really works with good will, consent and as a result of the high regard that the Armed Forces Community is held in across Wales.

The Covenant aims to avoid disadvantage, but where disadvantage is prevalent across Wales for many, for example in orthopaedic care pathways, NHS dentistry and social housing, then there is little that the Covenant can achieve for service leavers or veterans, without seeking advantage over the non-Armed Forces Community. What does “prioritisation for service related injuries” actually mean when the NHS Wales treatment pathway is logjammed? Below is a sanitised extract from a recent email received by the Commissioner from one of our NHS Wales Health Board veteran leads:

“I do feel that there continues to be a lack of understanding about what “Priority Treatment” means and it would be helpful if you could explain to Veterans who contact you that the Welsh Health Circular doesn’t mean that people won’t have to wait. We absolutely appreciate the sacrifice of Military Service, but the priority is over people with a similar level of clinical need, so in this case Mr X will have been offered an appointment before others who are also waiting and experiencing similar levels of pain and life-limiting mobility.   Waiting times are unfortunately challenging for the population as a whole, and patients of a higher level of clinical need will continue to be prioritised over a Veteran who has a lower level of clinical need.  Please do let … veterans know about our Waiting List Support Service as they can contact this service at any time for information or advice.”

When the prevailing political and social context is challenging for all, is it perhaps time that we revisited the Covenant’s fundamental principal of “fairness” and leaned more towards recognising the commitment and sacrifice that our Armed Forces Community have made through reward and prioritisation. At a time of significant challenge in recruiting, this would also improve the overall package offered to new joiners.

A Covenant that Endures Despite its Limitations

That aside, despite Defence being a retained function, the recognition and commitment to the Covenant, however impotent, at all levels of government in Wales is high. Champions exist from Senedd Cabinet level down to local government and in statutory bodies; and Welsh Government provide specific policy guidance on the Covenant across the devolved functional areas, advice to service leavers on settling in Wales and to employers. Circa £2M pa is spent on Armed Forces specific services in Wales, including: a small Armed Forces team of officials in Welsh Government; the 7 regional Armed Forces Covenant Liaison Officers (AFLOs); Veterans’ NHS Wales, the veteran-specific mental health service (op Courage equivalent) and; in partnership with RFCA and the Forces Employment Charity, annual careers fairs for service leavers and a Covenant Conference.

The Covenant and the Expansion of Legal Duty

In practical terms, Welsh Government effectively already apply “Due Regard” to the Covenant in their policies and delivery. Expansion of Due Regard legal duty, would probably serve as a forcing function for the review and refresh of extant Covenant compliance throughout the architecture of government in Wales, as the initial Due Regard implementation achieved in the current statutory areas. However, the proof of Due Regard compliance for the Armed Forces Covenant in Wales (or anywhere else in the UK?) is yet to be tested and therefore proven as a means to strengthen the Covenant as a tool for protecting the Armed Forces Community.

The Covenant in Practice in Wales - Resource Challenges

So, there is good knowledge of the Covenant and good support for it, across Wales, but the challenge, as ever is money. For example, Op COURAGE spend on veteran mental health in England in 2024 was £22.8M, servicing 6,700 veterans. That is an average spend per veteran client of £3,400 in England. In Wales, Veterans NHS Wales, our Op COURAGE equivalent, receives £920,000 of Welsh Government funding per annum (this has remained a flat investment for the last seven years). The service treats on average 575 veterans a year, with an equivalent average spend of £1,600 per veteran treated. This is a blunt tool and the two services are not exactly equivalent, but it does demonstrate a stark inequality in the funding of veteran mental health services between England and Wales. Due to lower cohort numbers, it is hard to justify veteran-specific services in some of the areas that OP COURAGE provides. In Wales, veterans’ substance abuse, mental health crisis and residential services do not exist within NHS Wales as they do in NHS England, and veterans have access only to generic services that are not nuanced to their specific needs.

The Covenant in Practice in Wales – Best Practice

Political Engagement. Wales has some areas of best practice. In the areas of networking, cooperation and coordination of support to veterans and the wider Armed Forces Community, Wales also excels. Assisted by geographic scale and commonality of local government structures across the nation, that is not present in England, navigating and engaging with elected representatives and relevant officials is straightforward. The Welsh Government Armed Forces Expert Group and the Senedd Cross Party Group have strong participation and engage widely across the Armed Forces Community and its supporting actors throughout Wales. This demonstration of intent permeates down to local government and into statutory providers such as the Health Boards. The identification of elected and official champions is good and Armed Forces and Covenant Steering Groups meet regularly, facilitated by the regional Armed Forces Covenant Liaison Officers (AFLOs).

AFLOS.  The 7 regional Armed Forces Covenant Liaison Officers (AFLOs), embedded in local authority clusters, are the golden thread of covenant awareness and civic-conscience with regard to the Armed Forces Community in their regions. AFLOs are funded by Welsh Government (Currently £275,000 p.a.) with administrative support contributions from their host local authorities. Their role is to educate, advocate, communicate, coordinate and signpost for their civil and armed forces communities. They support the elected Armed Forces Champions and are a vital situational awareness asset for Welsh Government and for the Veterans’ Commissioner. Their roles and funding have recently been subject to independent review and a task and finish group, which the Commissioner will sit on, has just been formed by Welsh Government to progress the report findings. Whilst the report recommended enhanced and secure funding for the AFLOs and some options for restructuring and streamlining, it concluded that: “The AFLOs are ‘Golden Nuggets’ and their role should continue to be enhanced in Wales.” UK ministers and the OVA have noted the valuable function that AFLOs provide and are investigating how a similar network could be established in England.

V4P & the Third Sector. Third sector service providers are very well networked, utilising the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust (AFCFT) funded, V4P (Veterans, Places, Pathways and People Programme) initiative. This has 12 funded members but over 100 non-funded members in Wales, covering virtually every veteran-facing body (statutory and voluntary). This includes the major military charities, but also regional CICs, volunteer hubs, AFLOs, NHS Wales, the single Services and more. It is a living network, growing as new organisations emerge. It provides critical functions, improving coordination, information, collaboration and optimising the delivery of effects to improve veteran, but also wider Armed Forces Community outcomes. It is an invaluable asset in engaging collectively and rapidly with the Armed Forces Community in Wales. V4P operates in regions across the UK and AFCFT senior leadership cite the success of V4P in Wales as an exemplar of what the initiative can deliver.

The Covenant in Practice in Wales– Areas for Improvement

Tough Problems.  There are functional areas in Wales, similar to those across the UK, where provision for veterans is sub optimal. There is insufficient veteran-specific crisis and longer-term housing; shortages of mental health crisis beds and long waits for orthopaedic interventions (with commensurate adverse impacts on mental health and quality of life). But, in the main, these deficiencies reflect wider national problems in provision.

Fixable Problems – One Example, OP NOVA. One area of deficiency in Wales to highlight that is fixable in the short term, would be the lack of a funded OP NOVA, veterans in the justice system, programme in Wales. Op NOVA exists in England (and is starting up in Scotland) as a funded programme to provide holistic welfare support to veterans in the justice system. It coordinates mental health, educational, housing and employment assistance to veterans in custody, up to post-release. It is a collaborative programme funded by NHS England and delivered by the Forces Employment Charity and other third sector providers. In Wales, although there is charitable support to veterans in prison, there is no wrap-around equivalent programme. The Commissioner has raised this with Welsh Government as an area of disparity between England and Wales and where, for little investment, significant reductions in veteran reoffending and improvements in wellbeing could be quickly achieved. Welsh Government are now in discussions with the Forces Employment Charity and the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust about how Op NOVA might be extended into Wales.

The Covenant – A Postcode Lottery, Delegated to Volunteers

Whilst the delivery of veteran services in Wales and across the UK is conducted by so many different providers, statutory and voluntary, there is bound to be gaps and variances in provision – a postcode lottery. In a nation where saving lives at sea, air ambulances, disease research, hospice care, animal welfare and so many other essential services are provided by the charitable and voluntary sector, it is hard to see why the veteran and Armed Forces sector should be different. However, we must question whether the State should really abrogate its responsibility for the support of those who have served and sacrificed for their country. Many veterans in need can trace their challenges back to service, whether this be health related, relationship breakdown or even financial hardship. Yet much of the support that they receive is provided informally by volunteers and through charitable donation.

The Covenant – An Opportunity for Improvement

We have an opportunity now, with this enquiry into the Armed Forces Covenant and other related legislative reviews, to address this imbalance. The Covenant is fine as an expression of intent but as any old soldier knows, a plan without resources is just a piece of paper. Let us, as the United Kingdom, make the Covenant more than just a few words. Well-intentioned though it may be, as long as responsibility is slipped and resources are not assigned, to many in need the Covenant is but a false promise. We owe it to our Armed Forces Community to pay it more than just lip service, we must enshrine the Covenant in Law and give it teeth and muscles, so that it can fight on behalf of those who have fought for us.

20th February 2025