Military Covenant breakthrough

Regular readers will know about the Legion's campaign to ensure the Government abides by its pledge on the Military Covenant. An "historic breakthrough" has now been made thanks to Prime Minister David Cameron's decision to write the principles of the Armed Forces Covenant into law. This followed discussions with the Legion's Director General, Chris Simpkins.

The Director General said: "For the first time, Armed Forces personnel and their families will see the principles of fair treatment there on the statute book. Fairness for our brave Armed Forces can now be put to parliamentary scrutiny - an historic breakthrough that will benefit all those in Service and their families for generations to come. The Legion has campaigned vigorously for this and we applaud Mr Cameron for putting the Covenant principles in the heart of the new Armed Forces Bill, thereby fulfilling his promise made on HMS Ark Royal in June 2010 to write the Covenant into law."

The new Government amendments were approved by MPs on 14 June 2011.
 

Local services for local Armed Forces

Focus on the provision of services to the Armed Forces and veterans has turned to local government recently. The Legion and the 'Local Government Information Unit' have published 'Honouring the Armed Service Community '. This aims to encourage local authorities to understand and meet the particular needs of the Armed Forces community in their area. It provides a number of recommendations and examples of how local authorities are already providing services. This was sent out to every local authority and MP in the country. Hard copies are available from dmartin@britishlegion.org.uk

Only weeks after publication the Government announced that it was providing up to £30 million to 'support joint projects at a local level between the services or veterans and the wider community'. The same speech also announced an increase in the council tax discount for personnel overseas, £3 million extra funding for schools with Armed Forces children and access to IVF treatment for those suffering genital injuries.

Final changes made to AFCS

The last issue of the newsletter outlined the latest changes to Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) following last year's Lord Boyce Review. These came into play from 9 May 2011. Further details on the changes can be found at the Service Personnel and Veterans Agency (SPVA) website.

These improvements will provide an estimated £40 million in extra payments to previous awards. All claimants that have previously received an award will have it reassessed automatically by the SPVA. Due to the number of claims, this process may take up to 12 months. Anyone who thinks their new award is incorrect can get advice from the Legion's Compensation Team.

There may be a small number of people with hearing loss who were denied an award under the old version of the scheme but may now be eligible for a payment. The SPVA are unable to identify these cases so anyone who thinks that this might apply to them should contact the SPVA or seek advice from our Compensation Team.

Second Personnel Recovery Centre to open

The second of the Personnel Recovery Centres is due to open on an interim basis from July. The centre, in Tidworth, is for wounded, injured and long-term sick serving personnel. It is located in Tedworth House, a listed building and former officer's mess.

Once the centre is fully operational the Legion will take on part responsibility for its running. This should be from spring 2012. Our funding over the next ten years will be approximately £3.5million. There will also be a 'welfare hub' to provide ongoing help and support to those who have been through the recovery programme and either returned to duty or moved into civilian life. The redevelopment of the building is being managed and paid for by Help for Heroes who will also part fund its operation.

Armed Forces health website launched

The Legion and Combat Stress's Armed Forces Health Partnership website is up and running at www.armedforceshealthpartnership.org.uk . The website provides a resource for Service charities, NHS organisations, local authorities and veterans themselves with a specific focus on Armed Forces healthcare.

We would really appreciate publicity for the website so spread the word if you can. We are also looking for outside contributions to and information for the site. Please contact Marie-Louise Sharp (msharp@britishlegion.org.uk) with any enquiries.

Mentoring for mental health

A new mentoring project, Shoulder to Shoulder, that matches volunteers with ex-Service men and women recovering from mental health problems has been launched. Mentors offer practical support and friendship to their mentees, helping them to adjust to civilian life and integrate into society.

The service is delivered by TimeBank with help from Combat Stress . The Legion and Combat Stress have agreed to provide funding for the continuation of the London pilot and a new extension of the service to Birmingham. The project is looking for both people that would benefit from support and those that would like to be mentors. More details are available from the project's website.

The battle continues for the Chief Coroner

The Legion continues to campaign for the full implementation of the Coroners & Justice Act 2009 despite the Government's proposal to do away with the post of Chief Coroner. The office of Chief Coroner was one of the public bodies listed for abolition when the Government announced its 'bonfire of the Quangos'. This was delivered by the Public Bodies Bill.

The Legion and our supporters have fought hard to save the Chief Coroner role. Earlier this year, Baroness Finlay of Llandaff gained significant support in the House of Lords for her amendment to remove the office of the Chief Coroner from the Public Bodies Bill. This week, in a Written Ministerial Statement, the Government announced their intention to put the office of the Chief Coroner back into the Bill, but not for abolition, instead opting for an option which would allow functions to be transferred elsewhere.

The statement by the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, Kenneth Clarke QC MP outlined proposals for some of the functions of the Chief Coroner to move to the Lord Chief Justice or Lord Chancellor, while other functions included in the Coroners & Justice Act 2009 were not to be taken forward at all; these included oversight of military inquests, ensuring that coroners are properly trained to complete a military inquest; and an new appeals process.

The reasons not taking forward some duties contained in the Coroners & Justice Act 2009 are related to costs and the Government's wish for reforms to be cost neutral. The costs associated with appeals are reported by the Government to be circa £2.2m per year ; the costs associated with legal representation for the Ministry of Defence during military inquests in 2008 was £1.5m. The Legion continues to stress the need for oversight of Service inquests and an appeals process with leadership from a Chief Coroner for England and Wales.

No place in law for the Military Covenant

The Government is backing off from its previous commitment to write the Military Covenant into law. The Armed Forces Bill , which is now at the Select Committee stage in the Commons, instead contains a requirement for the Government to report on the Covenant. This will outline how current or former membership of the Armed Forces impacts on issues such as housing and healthcare. The Legion through our Director General, Chris Simpkins, has been very vocal in insisting that the Government sticks to its earlier promise.

Armed Forces Compensation Scheme review

Implementation of Lord Boyce's review recommendations for the AFCS continues. The MoD had committed to implementing all of these within 12 months. With a number of changes made during the summer and that deadline approaching, the Government put forward the last of the legislative changes on the 28 February. The MoD has also published, 'The Review of the AFCS - one year on '. The summary provides a good outline of the many improvements, including increased payments, for claimants. Over the next twelve months or so the MoD will be reviewing all previous claims in light of the new rules.

The Legion's Manifesto for Wales

The Legion has published its own manifesto ahead of the Welsh Assembly elections on the 5 May 2011. It sets out five measures that we want the next Welsh Assembly Government to take up for the serving and ex-Service community. These include family and mobility issues, Disabled Facilities Grants, War Pensions and NHS Priority Treatment.

We are also asking every Assembly Member and candidate for the Welsh general election to pledge online to do their bit for the whole Armed Forces family. Ask your AM or candidates in your area to sign up at www.timetodoyourbit.org.uk.

Disabled parking

The reforms continue and this time it is the Blue Badge disabled parking scheme. The Transport Minister, Norman Baker MP, recently announced a number of changes to the scheme . Two of these are of aimed at improving access to the scheme for disabled serving and ex-Service personnel.

An automatic award of a Blue Badge will be made to recipients of an AFCS award at Tariffs 1-8 who are also assessed by the Service Personnel and Veterans Agency (SPVA) as having a permanent and substantial disability that causes inability to walk or very considerable difficulty in walking. It is hoped that this will start from May 2011. Currently disabled Service personnel based overseas are not entitled to a Blue Badge due to residency requirements. This will change in future but probably not until 2013 due to the need for legislation.

Chief Coroners' Office

The Legion is continuing to lobby the Government over the proposed abolition of the office of Chief Coroner. The Public Bodies Bill, which provides Ministers with the powers to abolish a number of public bodies including the Chief Coroner's Office, is currently working its way through the Lords.

Baroness Finlay, a cross-bench Peer, tabled an amendment to remove the Chief Coroner's Office from the list of bodies to be abolished. The amendment was passed with a majority of 112 votes, the largest defeat the Government had at that stage suffered in the Lords. It is hoped the Government will take note of this and not reinsert the office of the Chief Coroner into the Bill when it moves to the Commons. This would allow the important changes to the coroners system introduced under the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 to be implemented.