The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence (Mr
Tobias Ellwood):...There is one spectrum of veterans about
whom I am particularly concerned. We are seeing the benefits of the
processes we put in place following the lessons we learned from
Afghanistan and Iraq. The groupings who are more vulnerable,
because the stigma was so prevalent, are those who served at the
time of the Falklands. They are now in their 40s,
50s, 60s and 70s. They saw and experienced things that perhaps they
still do not want to talk about. They were not educated during
their time about where help could be found. It is those people whom
we have a duty to reach out to and find through means other than
our connections to the armed forces...
(Brecon and Radnorshire)
(Con):...On the theme of mental health, I wish briefly to
talk about a constituent of mine whose case I have been involved in
for the past three years. Gus Hales has been in the public eye a
little bit recently, because he has been on hunger strike in the
town of Newport—he lives just outside Builth Wells in my
constituency. Gus served as a soldier in the Falklands conflict and in other conflicts
around the world, but he has not had the treatment that he rightly
deserves. Just before Armistice Day, I sat on a grass verge in
Newport, which is a two-hour drive from my constituency, outside
Combat Stress, with which Gus has an issue, in a most undignified
manner, because there I was sitting next to a gentleman who had
served this country and who was on hunger strike because of the
complaints he had. Those complaints were very
justified...
(Bridgend)
(Lab):...The hon. Gentleman mentioned that Gus served in
the Falklands. I do not know whether part of the problem that Gus
is experiencing today is because of that service, but is the hon.
Gentleman aware of the support that the Falkland Islanders still
give to veterans? They subsidise flights so that veterans can
return to the Falklands, and they give them support in revisiting
some of the battlefields and help them to work through some of
the trauma that they experienced. I wonder whether that might
help Gus. If the hon. Gentleman is interested, I can give him
further details later.
: I thank the hon.
Lady for her intervention, and I congratulate her on her election
referred to earlier. A Member of the Legislative Assembly flew
over from the Falkland Islands when they heard that Gus was on
hunger strike, and they have been involved in his case...
(Berwick-upon-Tweed)
(Con):...It is great to see in this year’s report that
more guidance is going to schools with the service pupil premium
funding to help teachers understand some of the particular needs
of those children. I am lucky enough to have an RAF base in my
constituency, and Longhoughton school, the local school next to
the base at RAF Boulmer, has an extraordinary cohort of teachers.
Military children make up 80% of the school, so teachers’
knowledge, understanding and ability to spot a child under stress
because their parents are having to move—a lot of them deploy out
to the Falklands for six months—are
extraordinary. When there are schools that understand because
they see a lot of these children, we need to draw out that
knowledge and share it. The hon. Lady is right, these children
can land anywhere in the country at any point...
To read the whole debate, CLICK
HERE
