Armed forces minister
responds to the Royal British Legion's honour the covenant campaign
MINISTRY OF DEFENCE
News Release (214/2007) issued by The Government News Network on 13
September 2007
In response to the
launch today of the Royal British Legion's Honour the
Covenant Campaign, the Armed Forces' Minister, Bob Ainsworth, said:
"I welcome the Royal British Legion's campaign to
generate debate about the covenant between the Nation and the
Armed Forces. I will look in detail at the Royal British
Legion's concerns and respond in full as soon as possible. I
do not believe that the covenant is broken and, having spoken to
the military Chiefs, nor do they. But making sure that the
covenant is upheld, particularly when we are asking our people to
do so much, is very important. For this reason we keep the support
we provide to our personnel and their families under constant review.
"There are areas where we have already made significant
progress, but we acknowledge that we must do more. These areas
include mental healthcare for veterans, compensation, inquests and accommodation.
"We are working with the NHS to develop a new model of
community-based mental health care for veterans, and have agreed
in principle to a very considerable increase in money to Combat
Stress for 2007/2008.
"In 2005 we introduced the Armed Forces' Compensation
Scheme which, for the first time, offers an upfront, tax-free,
lump sum payment. The scheme also provides the Guaranteed Income
Payment (GIP) to those who have been more seriously injured. GIP
is tax-free, inflation-proof and paid for life, on discharge. We
are expecting the result of our review into multiple injuries
payments to conclude within weeks.
"The MoD has worked closely with the Ministry of Justice and
individual Coroner's offices to reduce the time that it takes
to hold inquests. This has been very successful.
"Providing Armed Forces personnel and their families with
decent accommodation is one of our top priorities. We are
determined to address the legacy of substandard accommodation and
have committed to spend £5bn over 10 years to put it right.
Although it will take some time, we are making real progress.
"Fulfilling our part of the deal is not always easy and
takes both time and money. Clearly, as a Defence Minister I accept
that I have a role to play in leading this debate, in partnership
with other Government departments, with charities, with the public
and with the Armed Forces to make sure that the covenant is upheld."
Notes to editors
The MOD's on-line news service, UK Defence Today, may be
found at http://news.mod.uk.
The latest version of the Military Covenant can be found online
at http://www.army.mod.uk/servingsoldier/usefulinfo/valuesgeneral/adp5milcov/ss_hrpers_values_adp5_1_w.html#backgrd