MoD sets out
cross-government strategy to improve support for the Armed Forces
MINISTRY OF DEFENCE
News Release (166/2008) issued by The Government News Network on 17
July 2008
The Ministry of
Defence has today published the Service Personnel Command Paper
which outlines a package of measures to improve the lives of our
Service Personnel, their families and our veterans.
This paper - "The Nation's Commitment: Cross-Government
Support to our Armed Forces, their Families and Veterans" -
is the first time that such a cross-Government strategy has been
issued and it sets the standard for the level and scope of support
our Service personnel can expect.
Key changes include:
* The Ministry of Defence doubling Armed Forces Compensation
Scheme payments for the most serious injuries from £285,000 to
£570,000. All injured personnel will receive an increase of
between 10 and 100%;
* The Department of Health improving
access to NHS dentists for Service families;
* The Department
for Innovation, Universities and Skills offering free A-Level
equivalent or first Degree-level education for Service leavers
with six years service;
* The Department for Transport
offering free bus travel for seriously injured Service Personnel
and veterans;
* The Department for Communities and Local
Government helping Service leavers get on the property ladder by
extending their Key Worker status for 12 months after leaving the
Armed Forces; and
* The Department for Children, Schools and
Families making it easier for Service families with frequent and
short notice postings to get their children into local schools.
Secretary of State for Defence, Des Browne, said:
"Our Armed Forces are truly inspiring - every day they risk
their lives to keep us safe - and it is a fundamental duty of
government to support them and their families. I think this
Command Paper presents a package of measures that will make a real
difference to the everyday lives of our forces and their families.
It will improve their access to public services and for the most
seriously injured it will ensure a significant increase in the
amount of compensation that they get paid. I think it offers
significant progress and we now have to make sure we deliver that change.
Chief of the Defence Staff, Sir Jock Stirrup, said:
"Our Servicemen and women achieve great things on a daily
basis in testing conditions all over the world. They, and their
families, also face unique demands that make their achievements
all the more remarkable. As a nation, we have a duty to make sure
that our Armed Forces are treated fairly whether they are home or
abroad, and that is why this Service Personnel Command Paper is so
important. My fellow Chiefs and I welcome this paper. It will
ensure our Armed Forces and their dependants are not disadvantaged
by their Service life, and in some cases enjoy special treatment
befitting of their daily sacrifice on behalf of us all."
The Service Personnel Command Paper was commissioned by the Prime
Minister in November 2007. Since then Armed Forces Minster Bob
Ainsworth has led a team of tri-Service personnel and MoD civil
servants to produce the new strategy and the measures. The Service
Personnel Command Paper team consulted widely with current and
former Service personnel, their families, Service charities,
Service Families Federations; and worked with colleagues across
Whitehall and in the Devolved Administrations.
Notes to Editors
1. The Service Personnel Command Paper is published on the MoD
website at http://www.mod.uk
2. Key measures in the Service Personnel Command Paper include:
MoD
* Improved payments under the Armed Forces Compensation
Scheme
The upfront lump sum payment for injury under the AFCS
will be doubled for the most serious injuries. All recipients,
according to severity of injury, will have an uplift of between 10
and 100% in their upfront lump sum payments. MOD also intends to
confer additional benefits to extend this effect to those who have
already made claims under the Scheme. The Guaranteed Income
Payment (GIP) will continue to apply in addition to the upfront
lump sum compensation payment. The GIP will continue to provide
the most seriously injured with a monthly, tax-free income once
they leave the Service. For example, a 25-year-old seriously
injured soldier may receive a £570,000 lump sum payment plus a GIP
of £19,000 per year tax free for life. If he lives to average life
expectancy, this is a further million pounds, tax free, on top of
the lump sum payment. These changes will be implemented following
a short consultation period.
Department for Health (DH)
* Improved access to NHS dentists for Service
families
Service mobility and the frequent need to find an NHS
dentist in the new location can make access to dentistry difficult
for Service families. DH and other health departments will trial
various new ways such as making use of facilities on military
bases, or provide mobile services in those areas, or make use of
spare capacity elsewhere. Trials will begin by December 2008 and
complete by December 2009.
DH and other health departments will work with the NHS to ensure
that health areas with large Service personnel populations plan
with the military communities in their areas to ensure Service
families get the dental care they need.
* NHS Waiting List - Retention of Place.
Service mobility can
cause repeated loss of place on NHS waiting lists. DH and other
health departments will ensure that when patients move across the
UK, previous waiting time will be taken into account with the
expectation, all things being equal, that treatment will be within
national waiting time standards.
The Department for Innovation, University and Skills (DIUS)
* Free education and training for Service leavers
Those joining the Armed Forces often commit to this career path
before they can take advantage of opportunities in further or
higher education. All Service leavers with over 6 years'
service will have the opportunity to achieve their first Level 3
qualification (A-level or equivalent) free from tuition fees.
Alternatively, for those who want to progress to higher levels, we
will fund all tuition fees for a first foundation or full degree.
This means that a sailor, soldier or airman can join the Armed
Forces from school, secure in the knowledge that six or more
years' service will be rewarded with the opportunity of a
college or university education without tuition fees. Scottish
Ministers and the Welsh Assembly Government have agreed to put in
place similar measures.
The Department for Transport (DfT)
* Concessionary Bus Travel.
The statutory bus concession in England will be extended by 1
April 2011 to include seriously injured Service personnel and
veterans under the age of 60.
* Automatic entitlement for Blue Badges to severely injured veterans
The Blue Badge Scheme provides a range of parking concessions
across the UK for people with severe mobility problems. We will
now introduce a scheme so that severely disabled veterans in
England will receive automatic entitlement to a Blue Badge without
further assessment. Scottish Ministers will also implement this
change. The Welsh Assembly Government is consulting on plans for a
Reform Strategy for the Blue Badge Scheme in Wales, with this
proposal considered as part of the review.
The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG)
* Extending Key Worker Status for Service leavers
Servicemen and women in England have Key Worker Status but many
do not have the opportunity to purchase a home. DCLG is extending
Key Worker Status to enable Service leavers to access Key Worker
Living 12 months after discharge.
* High priority for injured troops in applying for adapted social housing
Seriously injured Service personnel can face delays in obtaining
suitable adapted social housing where they are not given
sufficient priority.
DCLG will give seriously injured
personnel in England and Wales high priority for social housing.
Statutory guidance will be issued to reinforce this message.
Scottish Ministers will remind landlords of the existing high
priority that seriously injured personnel in Scotland receive for
adapted social housing.
* Housing to prevent homelessness
To help prevent homelessness, DCLG will contribute £400,000 to
provide new supported housing for Service leavers in England to
enable them to make a successful transition to civilian life. We
will work with the Housing Corporation to deliver this initiative
which will also be supported by MOD gifting land.
Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF)
* School Place Allocation
Access to schools is more difficult for Service children due to
the frequency and short notice postings of their parents. DCSF is
seeking Service families' views on improving admissions, and
the Schools Adjudicator is reviewing admissions for 2009 in order
to identify any disadvantage for Service families so that it can
be removed.
* Priority access and increased provision of State Boarding Schools
Boarding school education can reduce the impact of Service
mobility on children's education. DCSF will prioritise
Service children's access, second only to children in care,
for state boarding school places. DCSF will also increase the
number of places at state boarding schools by well over 100 over
the next 3 years.
Additionally, through the academies
programme, 3 new state boarding schools are planned.