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Lack of communication and information sharing between the MoD, public services and armed forces charities is reducing the effective provision of support to ex-service members, finds a study presented at the annual Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Festival of Social Sciences.

When service men and women leave the Armed Forces and return to ‘civvy street’ they can face a number of challenges and hardships they need support with. Some will have been injured in combat and will have to learn to cope with a disability. Others may need mental health support. Many more will need help and advice on housing, money, education and training. For many, initial transitions can be straightforward, yet problems can emerge later as they adjust to civilian life.

Although there are public services and charities out there that can help, a study from Newcastle University suggests much more needs to be done to co-ordinate these activities around the needs of veterans.

Professor Rob Wilson led a team who surveyed and interviewed staff from over 100 organisations who provide services to members of the armed forces and their families in the North East.
They found that ex-soldiers risked being overlooked and falling through the cracks of support, often because support networks were overly complex and charities had no idea how many veterans and their families lived in their area.

This was due to a lack of information sharing by the MoD on the location of the veterans, but also by a lack of data collected on their whereabouts after they left the force and dispersed around the country.

One of the key problems revealed by the study was that charities were also not sharing information with each other. This was due to legitimate concerns around breaching data confidentiality, but also a lack of knowledge and resources on how best to share. Some smaller charities were unaware that they could share information as long as consent was given. This sometimes left the veteran as the one doing the joining-up on their own behalf.

The large number of charities and organisations involved in looking after the welfare of soldiers in itself also caused problems, as a lack of clarity around the role and remit of each organisation created confusion and in some cases lead to a duplication of services.

Finally the study found that because of the competitive nature of funding grants, many organisations were unwilling to share information or work with others because they wanted to ‘hold on’ to veterans so they could secure future funding.

“Our study shows that co-ordination of vital services for ex-servicemen and women is suffering because of the lack of 'joining up' of all the organisations involved,” says Professor Wilson.

"Joining up the services is much easier to say than it is to do, but with key strategic local investments the infrastructure for co-ordination could be improved.  Such investments would achieve more effective joining up between those who provide help with those who need support, thereby harnessing the resources and goodwill already available through existing programmes and in the wider local communities.”

Findings from this study as well as other research from Newcastle University’s Military, War and Security Research Group and the Centre for Knowledge, Information, Technology and Enterprise (KITE) will be discussed at an event, ‘Cadet to veteran: understanding military participation' on 11 November.

Further information

• Professor Rob Wilson,
  Email: rob.wilson@newcastle.ac.uk
  Telephone 0191 208 1727

Notes for editors

1. The 13th annual Festival of Social Science takes place from 7-14 November 2015 with over 200 free events nationwide. Run by the Economic and Social Research Council, the Festival provides an opportunity for anyone to meet with some of the country’s leading social scientists and discover, discuss and debate the role that research plays in everyday life. With a whole range of creative and engaging events there’s something for everyone including businesses, charities, schools and government agencies. A full programme is available online. You can also join the discussion on Twitter using #esrcfestival. Logos for the festival can be downloaded.
2. The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) is the UK’s largest funder of research on the social and economic questions facing us today. It supports the development and training of the UK’s future social scientists and also funds major studies that provide the infrastructure for research. ESRC-funded research informs policymakers and practitioners and helps make businesses, voluntary bodies and other organisations more effective. The ESRC also works collaboratively with six other UK research councils and Innovate UK to fund cross-disciplinary research and innovation addressing major societal challenges. The ESRC is an independent organisation, established by Royal Charter in 1965, and funded mainly by the Government. In 2015 it celebrates its 50th anniversary.
3. This press release is based on findings from the 'Evaluation of Information Sharing Practice in the North East mixed economy of service provision for ex-services personnel' report. The study was funded by the Forces in Mind Trust (FiMT) and was carried out by the Centre for Knowledge, Innovation, Technology and Enterprise (KITE), a Newcastle University Research Centre on behalf of the Institute of Local Governance (ILG) and Association of NE Councils (ANEC). This Press Release does not represent the views of FiMT, ILG or ANEC.
4. The event, organised by Dr. K. Neil Jenkings (neil.jenkings@ncl.ac.uk), and is being held at Beehive, Newcastle University, NE1 7RU. The research team based at Newcastle University are continuing to work on addressing this problem. To find out more about the Veterans project contact Professor Rob Wilson (rob.wilson@ncl.ac.uk )and for copies of the report see the Force in Mind Trust website (FiMT).