Meeting of the Parliament 05 December 2024
I am pleased that we are having this debate and that we hold it annually, because it is important that we remember that, as the armed forces shrink over the decades, the number of members of the armed forces who have connections with their communities is decreasing. As our communities’ connection with the institution becomes less strong, it is important that we understand veterans’ needs.
Between 2006 and 2007, I was a member of the House of Commons Defence Committee. At that point, the committee was considering education and the fact that what was provided by the education system did not match the needs of service families. It was also considering mental health. At that time, it was viewed as an outrage that the provision on both those fronts was inadequate across the United Kingdom, and there was a response to that. Today, almost 20 years later, there is a certain mirroring of that debate.
However, there is a danger of us framing all ex-service personnel as being somehow hopeless and helpless. They are far from that. Their skills are rich and varied—they are talented people. Throughout their military service, they adopted a can-do approach in very difficult circumstances, including times of conflict. They made things happen, and those skills are incredibly valuable in today’s workplace. Although we should be debating the issues of mental health and education—and housing, which I will come on to—it is important to recognise that our veterans, as a group of people, are a great asset to our society.