Emma Lewell MP: Our heroes who gave so much for us deserve the very best – Veterans Strategy will deliver this
This week, as we pay our respects to those who have served and continue to serve in our Armed Forces, the Government announced their Veterans Strategy.
This is the first strategy of its kind in seven years. For too long our veterans have heard governments thank them for their service and claim that the UK will be the best place in the world to be a veteran, yet they know that this rhetoric rarely matches up to the reality.
This new strategy has announced a further investment of nearly £30million to Op Valour.
Valour, launched earlier this year, will fix the ‘postcode lottery’ of support that veterans have struggled with for years – creating regional support hubs for their housing, health, employment, and welfare needs – all under one roof.
It is a national shame that there are veterans sleeping rough on our streets, so this plan will work to end veteran homelessness with a new £12million fund and an extension of Op Fortitude – which helps connect people in our forces community who are experiencing homelessness to housing provider charities, and local authorities.
Nuclear Test Veteran medals will now be given to all those who served in French and Chinese testing, recognising the extraordinary sacrifice of those brave service personnel.
There will also be a new £350,000 fund to recognise and celebrate female veterans, the lack of female specific veterans’ services is something I and others have long campaigned for, so the establishment of a new Women Veterans Forum is long overdue.
Alongside this the Government is pressing ahead with the promise to enshrine the Armed Forces covenant into law so that no service personnel or forces families are disadvantaged by their service.
As a member of the House of Commons Defence Committee – which scrutinises and holds the Secretary of State, Ministers and the Ministry of Defence to account – I can assure the 6,464 veterans in South Tyneside that I will make sure this strategy delivers. Our heroes who gave so much for us deserve the very best and I am determined that is what they will get.