Help for Heroes are delighted to announce that we have been able to raise the £20m we pledged in March 2009 to help pay for the first four Personnel Recovery Centres. Work will begin immediately and we hope to see the first fully comprehensive centre open at Colchester in the spring of 2011, followed soon afterwards with PRCs at Catterick and then Tidworth. The H4H funded Erskine Pathfinder at Edinburgh will continue to operate for at least one more year while decisions are made as to how best to support the wounded in Scotland. This will be followed by either an extension of that facility or the creation of a new one closer to the Edinburgh garrison. Further centres may well be needed in future. Although this is an Army led initiative, the PRCs will be available to members of all three Services on a case by case basis, in line with our declared desire to support all members of the Armed Forces.

The Centres are part of a much larger Army Recovery Capability (ARC) with Personnel Recovery Branches (PRUs) in 10 Brigades as well as two in London and Germany, all overseen by Personnel Recovery Branch (PRB), a new organisation that ensures that all the wounded are cared for on tailor made Individual Recovery Plans (IRPs).

Our funds will build the centres, Army staff will run them, The Royal British Legion (TRBL) will maintain them for at least ten years and have matched our funding of £20m to support this initiative. This really is an example of partnership of public and charitable funding working together and we are delighted to be able to play our part.

Individual Recovery Plans (IRPs)

So what next? The Recovery Pathway is all about making the most of each person’s potential. It is not about what they can’t do but it is about what he or she can. Everyone on the path therefore will be assessed as to their potential and ambition and then helped to achieve of their best. H4H will be part of that process and we have announced our intention to raise a further £20m to fund the IRPs.

Our funds will be directed to support the individual as he or she progresses along the road to recovery and will fund courses and opportunities that will equip the wounded for their futures. This fund will be managed for us by the ABF- The Soldier’s Charity, the Army’s own charity (previously known as the Army Benevolent Fund) and we have granted £1m to them to get the process going immediately. We have also made funds available to the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force to support their recovery plans.

Summary

This is a new and exciting partnership of the Army, H4H and TRBL and ABF-The Soldiers Charity. It will also include vital contributions from the delivery charities such as Combat Stress, BLESMA, SSAFA Forces Help and many more; each play their key role along the road to recovery and help to deliver the very best support to our wounded heroes. We have raised the first £20m and have already begun to raise the next £20m of our £40m target. That is a huge amount of money and it will deliver a huge effect when added to TRBL and Army’s contribution. No one can now doubt the MOD’s and charities' commitment to ensure that our boys and girls, wounded in the service of our country, get the very best care. We thank you for helping to get this far and now we appeal to you to keep going to make this support second to none. Thank you.