Government Should Honour our Armed Forces with a 'Veterans Covenant' - Burstow

9.00.26pm GMT Wed 13th Jan 2010

The lack of support for veterans and confusion over what services are available to servicemen and women once they leave the armed forces was put on the Parliamentary agenda today (Wednesday 13th Jan) when Sutton and Cheam MP Paul Burstow co-sponsored his new 'Veterans Welfare Bill'.

Concerned by reports that too many veterans end up with inadequate access to health services or financial support, Mr Burstow is co-sponsoring legislation proposed by his colleagues Michael Moore MP, under the '10 Minute Rule' procedure, that would introduce a 'Veterans Covenant' setting out a duty of care for veterans in the same way that the Military Covenant does for serving members of the armed forces and their families.

Mr Burstow believes that the Ministry of Defence should be obliged to ensure that veterans' needs are properly assessed and their access to support monitored appropriately. His Bill seeks to improve the coordination and implementation of existing support programmes available for those who have served in the armed forces, and would require the Secretary of State for Defence to report to Parliament on veterans' welfare issues on an annual basis.

Commenting Paul Burstow said:

'Ministers quite rightly pay tribute to the sacrifices that our armed forces make on our behalf, but the simple fact is that in many cases the level of support they receive from the Government is unacceptable.

'Making the Government's responsibilities to our veterans explicit and ensuring that information on welfare is accessible can only improve the quality of services offered to former servicemen and women around the UK.'

'It is only right that the assistance offered to our veterans after they leave the armed forces reflects the extent of the sacrifices that so many of them have made on our behalf. I believe that the measures proposed in my Bill would be a positive first step towards addressing the failures that have left some veterans isolated, vulnerable and out of pocket.'