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At the start of November, over 100 Members of Parliament attended our 15th anniversary celebration, including the recently reappointed Veterans’ Minister Johnny Mercer. The event, which took place in the Houses of Parliament, was an opportunity not only to mark the successes and growth of the charity over the last decade and a half, but to call from action from parliamentarians to address ongoing issues affecting the veteran community.
The key topics for discussion were the ongoing issues faced by veterans going through medical discharge from the Armed Forces, particularly focusing on the current gaps within this process for those with mental health conditions, and the reinstating of central government funding for specialist mobility aids and wheelchairs for wounded veterans, which was recently stopped. We asked MPs to support our call for an independent review of medical discharge to be commissioned and to put pressure on the Government to reintroduce the Veteran’s Mobility Fund.
Help for Heroes interim CEO James Needham (centre), with Army veteran Rob Shenton (left) and John Lamont MP (right). James said:
“We are delighted that so many parliamentarians joined us to mark this important milestone in our organisation’s history. It is a real testament to the success and importance of our work and the positive impact we have had upon the lives of our veterans and their families.
“However, there is still a lot more that the Government should be doing to support the wellbeing of the veterans’ community. This event has provided us with an invaluable opportunity to help make those with the power to influence government policy aware of the needs of wounded, sick, and injured veterans and to support our calls for action.”
Johnny Mercer praised the work of the charity and stated that veterans’ mental health was a priority for him and the Office for Veterans' Affairs. The event was also attended by Shadow Defence Secretary John Healey and Shadow Minister for Veterans and Defence People Rachel Hopkins, as well as MPs from the SNP and DUP demonstrating broad cross-party support for veterans' issues.
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