Source · Select Committees · Defence Committee
Recommendation 9
9
Accepted
The withdrawal from Afghanistan and end of the UK’s twenty-year military involvement in the country...
Recommendation
The withdrawal from Afghanistan and end of the UK’s twenty-year military involvement in the country has understandably had a negative impact on veterans’ mental health. This has increased demand on services provided by organisations such as Combat Stress and Help for Heroes as well as the NHS. The announcement of £2.7 million extra funding for veteran’s mental health through Operation Courage was welcome, as was the Government commitment to another £5 million for military charities to support veterans. We urge the Government to have an ongoing dialogue with charities working in this area to ensure that they are suitably resourced to engage in their important work. (Paragraph 59) Learning Lessons from Afghanistan
Government Response Summary
The government describes existing support for veteran mental health, including NHS services, charitable partnerships, and funding through Op COURAGE and the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust, and states it remains open to further engagement and collaboration across the charity sector.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
The Government is committed to the support and promotion of positive mental wellbeing for the whole Defence community, including veterans. Lead responsibility for the provision of veteran healthcare is led by the Department for Health and Social Care and its devolved equivalents. We recognise the potential impacts of Operation PITTING and the legacy Afghanistan campaign on those who supported operations from the UK and in-country. On the completion of Operation PITTING MOD units and formations offered Trauma Risk Incident Management (TRIM) briefs and support to all individual Augmentees (IAs) and participants. a) The Government recognises that the withdrawal from Afghanistan had a negative impact on the mental health of some members of the veteran community, and we are continuing to ensure there is good statutory support available, as well as partner with a number of charities to ensure robust and relevant mental health support remains available. b) In England, through NHS(E), Op COURAGE continues to provide a complete mental health care pathway through which our veterans benefit from personalised care plans, ensuring they can access support and treatment both in and out of hours. Following engagement with stakeholders and service users, the Op COURAGE service has been reviewed and from April 2023, NHS (E) will launch a single integrated Op COURAGE service, bringing together the currently three separate strands for those seeking support and treatment. c) For both statutory and non-statutory medical interventions, the mental wellbeing of the Veteran community is supported by the Government working in partnership with many charities, including through COBSEO, the CONTACT group, and the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust (AFCFT). 6 Withdrawal from Afghanistan: Government Reponse to the Committee’s Fifth Report d) In September 2021, the AFCTF developed and launched an emergency funding programme ‘Sustaining Support: Supporting Veterans and Families Impacted by the Afghanistan Conflict which awarded £975K to 30 projects in November 2021. e) The Office for Veterans’ Affairs also worked with the AFCFT to distribute £5M through the Afghanistan Veterans Fund. 51 projects across the UK received grants to increase dedicated support for veterans and their families, with £600k given to mental health charity Samaritans for a new peer support helpline which aims to encourage improved mental resilience and wellbeing for members of the Armed Forces community. f) The Government remains open to further engagement and collaboration across the charity sector to ensure adequate and accessible information, support and intervention is available to all in the veteran community. Learning Lessons from Afghanistan