Justin Tomlinson MP Meets With Royal British Legion To Discuss Support For The Armed Forces Community

Justin Tomlinson MP has met with The Royal British Legion’s local Area Manager Alistair Maxwell to discuss support for the Armed Forces community in Swindon and Wiltshire.

The Royal British Legion is the country’s largest Armed Forces charity, and provides support for many thousands of veterans, serving personnel and their families. Justin attended a Legion event in Parliament to show his support for the charity’s work, and met with the local Area Manager to discuss current issues facing the Armed Forces community.

Legion research has found that the biggest issues currently experienced by working-age members of the UK ex-Service community include hearing loss and difficulty finding employment; among over-75s, physical health and care are among the most common problems.

The Legion successfully campaigned for a £10m hearing loss fund, supports career transition through its Civvy Street website and delivers practical assistance through community outreach services and six care homes. A network of 16 high street ‘Pop In’ centres has also been developed to make it easier for beneficiaries to seek help.

Swindon is home to a large community of armed forces serving personnel & veterans, and one was one of the first areas to pledge its support to the Armed Forces Covenant – an agreement designed to ensure that serving personnel, veterans, and their families, can access the greatest possible support through vital services & are never disadvantaged if they a family member is away on duty.

The work of the Legion & other armed forces charities is being complimented by Government support.

Earlier this year, Ministers confirmed a package of funding worth over £200 million for Armed Forces mental health services. The Defence Secretary, Gavin Williamson, has agreed to spend an extra £2million a year for the next ten years to improve mental health services in the Armed Forces on top of the £20million per year that is currently committed. The additional money, which brings the total planned spending to £220million over the next decade, will be put towards an increase in mental health specialists and bolstering existing provision.

In addition to this, a specialist 24 hour helpline has been launched to act as a gateway to mental health services for service personnel, veterans, and their families. The helpline will help identify people in need of support and link them with 20 sites providing mental health care for the military in the UK and abroad - bringing together psychiatrists, mental health nurses, clinical psychologists and social workers to help manage the mental health needs of those in difficulty.

Alistair Maxwell, the Legion’s Area Manager for Somerset and Wiltshire, said “I was delighted to see Justin and we were grateful that he took the time to meet with us. The Royal British Legion provides lifelong support for the Armed Forces community – serving men and women, veterans and their families. This latest parliamentary event offered a great opportunity to spread the word about the range of services we provide, and it was a pleasure to discuss this in more detail with Justin”.

Justin Tomlinson MP said: “I enjoyed meeting staff from The Royal British Legion and learning more about the work being done in Swindon & Wiltshire. Members of the Armed Forces community make huge sacrifices in Service of our country and I am proud to support the work of the Legion in honouring the memory of the fallen and building a better future for the living. We are fortunate enough to have a large number of service personnel & veterans who live in Swindon and I am pleased that the both the Legion & Government are providing an ever-increasing number of services through the Armed Forces Covenant”.