5. Will the Cabinet Secretary outline the Welsh Government’s priorities for ex-service people in Wales, following his discussions with the armed services expert group? (OAQ51192)

Thank you. Our priority is to ensure that we provide effective services that meet the needs in areas such as health, housing and employment. Examples of these are the housing pathway and the work Veterans NHS Wales are undertaking in the delivery of research trials to alleviate mental health issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder.

I thank you for that answer, Cabinet Secretary. I’m sure that you’ll agree with me that we in Wales are proud of our armed forces and the work they do on our behalf. We must remember it is the politicians who sent them into conflict, therefore it’s incumbent upon politicians to ensure they’re looked after when they leave the service. Even given all the interventions that I know the Welsh Government has done, and they are to be applauded for that, we still find that there are those who slip through the net and are still sleeping rough on our streets. Do you have any updates on how the Welsh Government are going to deal with those people?

What we’re trying to establish here is a national solution to the problems, as well as here in Wales. What we’re trying to do is identify service leavers who want to be supported and therefore give them a pathway to change. I think it’s incumbent on the UK Government, in terms of how they deal with ex-service personnel—and I’ve raised this with Ministers on several occasions about their moral responsibilities for, when people go to conflict, how do they deal with and support them post conflict. It’s something I will continue to do and work with the armed forces expert group on that.

Cabinet Secretary, will you agree with me that one low-level support service is the Veterans Shed movement, which, of course, was established in north Wales in terms of the first one, is now being a model that is being copied in other parts of the country, not just in Wales, but across the UK as well, and that that is something that the Welsh Government would do well to support? I know that your colleague Lesley Griffiths, when she held the armed forces portfolio, made a visit to the Veterans Shed in Colwyn Bay and was hugely impressed by what they’re achieving. But what resource might the Welsh Government be able to make available to support the Welsh Veterans Shed network so that it can enhance the lives of other veterans in other parts of Wales that it’s not currently in?

I’m grateful to the Member and thank him for the work that he does on the cross-party group on armed forces also. I can’t commit to a financial reward for this group. I do recognise the work that they do in our communities. I think what we are looking at as a Government body is looking at the very high-level interventions that we can support—the more lower, but meaningful Intervention the Member talks about is an important one. We have to see what pathway to finance they can access, but I’m not quite sure it’s at a Government level.

Cabinet Secretary, former service personnel can often have difficulty in accessing new employment opportunities, despite the wealth of transferrable skills that they possess, and I’m sure you’re aware of recent media coverage about this issue. You alluded, in your answer to David Rowlands, to help that the Welsh Government provide in this area. I wonder if you could expand on that for us, please.

I’m grateful for the Member’s question, an important one about how we move from a service position to the public and private sector, which can, for some, be a very difficult transition. We’re working with the Career Transition Partnership on discharge. I indeed also met with an ex-service user in Dawn Bowden’s Constituency, who had moved from ex-service personnel to an excellent member of staff for a local contracting company. There are things that we can learn there about the support mechanisms that some people might need in addition to actual work and training skills and about how we learn from experience. It’s something my team and the expert group on service personnel is looking at and gives me advice on regularly.

Question 6 [OAQ51199] was withdrawn. Therefore, question 7, Lynne Neagle.