Northern Ireland Veterans Commissioner

11:00:00

I will call Robin Swann to move the motion and I will then call the Minister to respond. There will not be an opportunity for the Member in charge to wind up, as is the convention for 30-minute debates.

I beg to move, That this House has considered the role of the Northern Ireland Veterans Commissioner. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Dowd, in this Westminster Hall debate—the first that I am sponsoring. I want to take this time to cover a number of points, the first being how these things came about and the need for them, the second being the current situation and why I have secured this debate, and the third being recommendations to the Minister as to how the office should be delivered to benefit our veteran community in Northern Ireland. The New Decade, New Approach document, co- authored by the British and Irish Governments in January 2020, saw the restoration of the Northern Ireland Assembly after a three-year period in which it had failed to meet or establish an Executive. Under annexe A, which covered the UK Government’s commitments to Northern Ireland, there was a section entitled “Our commitments to veterans”, which contained four points. The first was: “Introduce UK-wide legislation to further incorporate the Armed Forces Covenant into law and support full implementation of the Armed Forces Covenant.” The second was: “Appoint a Northern Ireland Veterans' Commissioner to act as an independent point of contact to support and enhance outcomes for veterans in Northern Ireland.”

I commend the hon. Gentleman on his first Westminster Hall debate. It is clear that we have much to thank Danny Kinahan for; he is a man of integrity and a veteran himself, and his footsteps will be difficult to follow. One of the overarching themes from discussions with veterans as individuals and in groups has been the vital need for a replacement and that the replacement is themselves a victim. We do not desire a civil servant with experience of holding a pen, when only those who have experienced holding a weapon and wearing a uniform can know how we feel and what we need. Does the hon. Gentleman agree that that must be the case?

To clarify, the hon. Gentleman means a veteran—that is the point that has been made very vocally by the veterans community. The third point in the annexe was: “Initiate a review of the Aftercare Service in Northern Ireland (ACS) which will consider whether the remit of the ACS should be widened to cover all HM Forces veterans living in Northern Ireland with service-related injuries and conditions.” The fourth was: “Ensure that the work of the War Memorials Trust who protect and conserve war memorials across the UK is better promoted and understood in Northern Ireland.” In August 2020, the then Secretary of State, Brandon Lewis, announced that the former Ulster Unionist MP Danny Kinahan had been appointed as Northern Ireland’s first Veterans Commissioner. In the spirit of transparency, it should be noted that Mr Kinahan was my party’s previous MP in the seat that I now represent. His appointment was welcomed across the board. The then leader of the DUP, now Baroness Foster, said his appointment was a “positive and long overdue step toward ensuring the needs of Northern Ireland’s large and vibrant demographic of armed forces veterans are practically understood and addressed”. She added that “he brings a wealth of experience to the role and I know he will be keen to embrace the huge in-tray that awaits”.

I congratulate the hon. Member on securing the debate. Does he agree that the pressing need for a commissioner was exemplified just this weekend in the national press, where the issue of the late Captain Robert Nairac was highlighted? It is also exemplified in the ongoing problems veterans face, with many of them having witnessed horrific and terrible incidents and still living with their thoughts about them.

The hon. Member makes a valid point. I asked a question of the Northern Ireland Office on 12 December about the appointment, and the answer I got was: “We will set out steps for the appointment of a new Northern Ireland Veterans Commissioner in due course.” We are now almost a month on from that.

Surely the greatest deficiency is the fact that there is no statutory basis for the Veterans Commissioner? If we are going to secure the long-term future of the essential provision that a Veterans Commissioner can offer, surely we need to have it on a statutory basis, as elsewhere in the United Kingdom. Is that not the most important step that the Government could take moving forward?

I thank the hon. Member for his point, and I will come to it later when I quote him in regards to the concerns that were raised when Mr Kinahan resigned. On Mr Kinahan’s appointment, the leader of the Ulster Unionist party at that stage, Dr Steve Aiken, said that it “will be warmly welcomed by all veterans and the wider armed forces community across all of Northern Ireland”, that Mr Kinahan would “be a first-rate advocate for the many thousands here who have served” and that “by his appointment we have at long last joined the rest of the United Kingdom in providing that very necessary representation.”

I congratulate the hon. Member on securing this debate. Having heard the comments of the former leaders of the DUP and the Ulster Unionists, it is important to place on record our appreciation for the work that Danny engaged in. He did not work in a party political way, but rose to the occasion as a veterans-first commissioner and a champion for veterans. Having worked with him throughout his time in the role, I think the hon. Member will come on to some important deficits and deficiencies, in terms of not only how the role was hampered and constrained by the Northern Ireland Office and the appointing Department, but how it lacked the resource that would have allowed the commissioner to engage properly with anything more than about a 10th of veterans in Northern Ireland.

I thank the right hon. Member for his intervention—believe it or not, I was going to quote him later as well, but he has pre-empted that. Trust me, we are making cross-community representations to the Minister and the Northern Ireland Office. Moving on from the warm words of congratulation on Mr Kinahan’s appointment, we are here today because, unfortunately, on 5 September—four years after the role was created, and having been reappointed for a second term—Mr Kinahan issued a statement announcing his resignation, which came as a surprise to some. It said: “I can confirm that I have today resigned from my position as Northern Ireland Veterans Commissioner. Following an open and frank conversation with the Secretary of State, I have sadly concluded that I cannot provide the independent voice that veterans require. There is a feeling among some veterans in Northern Ireland that they have been forgotten and that they do not enjoy the same protections as their counterparts in Great Britain. Veterans in Northern Ireland have particular needs and concerns which need to be addressed by the UK Government, which I have made very clear in our discussions.” In closing, Danny said: “Finally, I would like to place on record my gratitude to all those who have placed their trust in me and assisted me with my work over the last four years. I will continue to work in their interests where I can.”

I congratulate the hon. Member on securing the debate. Does he agree that it is essential to empower the Veterans Commissioner and strengthen their authority, and that any enhancement is crucial to effectively protect and promote the interests of our veterans?

I do agree with the hon. Member, and I will expand on that in my later comments. In the Northern Ireland Assembly, Lord Elliott, then Ulster Unionist Member for Fermanagh and South Tyrone, said that Mr Kinahan’s resignation impacted directly on the veterans community and on the support available to veterans in Northern Ireland. He went on to say that Mr Kinahan “cited an inability to: ‘provide the independent voice that veterans require’, which underscores a critical development in how veterans’ affairs are managed in Northern Ireland.” Speaking of Mr Kinahan’s resignation, he said: “That recent event has sparked widespread concern across the veterans community and beyond, making it a matter of immediate relevance…the recent loss of the Northern Ireland Veterans’ Support Office…underscores an alarming development that could lead to a gap in support. Given the sacrifices made by veterans, any perceived failure in providing adequate support is of exceptional public interest and requires immediate attention by the Assembly and the Northern Ireland Office.” The hon. Member for North Antrim (Jim Allister), the leader of Traditional Unionist Voice, said that Danny Kinahan “performed the role in very challenging circumstances and now is an opportunity for the Government to address fundamental issues before appointing a successor.” As he said in his intervention: “The role of Veterans’ Commissioner must be put into a statutory basis and Government must provide proper resources and a structure.” He also pointed out something crucial: “Something not widely known is that the post of Veterans’ Commissioner is currently only a part time role with just two staff. By way of contrast, the Victims’ Commissioner role is full time with a staff of seven. Many veteran issues in Northern Ireland still need to be resolved. The previous government had a draft bill to align all the veterans’ commissioners across the UK and put the posts on a statutory basis…The new Labour Government needs to take this forward”. The right hon. Member for Belfast East (Gavin Robinson), the leader of the DUP, said: “Veterans throughout Northern Ireland and our party’s Veterans champions in local councils recognise the commitment” displayed by Danny Kinahan. So why the debate today? Why did the Veterans Commissioner for Northern Ireland come to the decision that he did? To sum up some of Mr Kinahan’s points from a meeting with him, the most significant issue facing the Veterans Commissioner is the lack of operational independence. The commissioner is restricted to part-time status, limiting their ability to fulfil the broad responsibilities of the role. The two staff members are assigned by the Northern Ireland Office and selected without input from the commissioner, reporting directly to the NIO, not the commissioner, which he felt undermined the commissioner’s authority to lead and manage the office. The commissioner also faced considerable limitations in staffing decisions—for example, office staff were even empowered to propose bonus awards for themselves, rather than the commissioner initiating them. He requested a formal appraisal process to assess staff performance to address areas of improvement. That was not implemented, leaving him powerless to manage the office effectively. The structural limitations imposed have transformed the role of commissioner into that of a figurehead: while the commissioner is the public face of veteran advocacy in Northern Ireland, Mr Kinahan felt that decision making was dominated by the Northern Ireland Office, rendering the commissioner’s role largely symbolic. He said that he also struggled to ensure that the Secretary of State received full, unedited reports, which he felt undermined the commissioner’s ability to influence policy effectively. How do those concerns impact the role of the commissioner? The identification of support for veterans is inadequate. One of the commissioner’s primary responsibilities is to identify veterans and ensure that they receive appropriate public services. Northern Ireland does not have a comprehensive database of veterans, and no questions were included in the recent census to identify our veterans. The commissioner repeatedly raised the need for door-to-door leafleting to inform veterans of available support. As a result, he estimated that only between 5,000 and 10,000 of the 120,000 veterans in Northern Ireland are in contact with support services. That failure to engage veterans is a direct consequence of NIO involvement in the operations of the commissioner’s office and a refusal to allocate resources to key initiatives. It should also be acknowledged that the 40,000 veterans who served in the Ulster Defence Regiment under constant threat, which continued after their service ended, face different challenges and are now mostly at an age where a local focus is required. On health services for veterans, the commissioner identified significant challenges in veterans accessing healthcare, particularly those in long-term pain awaiting surgery. He put forward a proposal for partnership with NHS England and King Edward VII’s hospital to provide veterans with faster access to surgery to achieve the commitments of the armed forces covenant and the Government. But he felt that that initiative was hampered, maybe by the over-application of section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998. The commissioner also expressed concern about the closure of our Veterans Support Office. That closure is a stark example of how veterans’ support in Northern Ireland has been undermined. The VSO was a trusted and, again, independent organisation that provided centralised support for veterans, and its closure has left a significant gap in services. The commissioner’s views were neither considered nor consulted in the making of the decision, which seems to have been driven by the NIO and by the Office for Veterans’ Affairs. The concerns raised were also brought forward in the independent review of UK Government welfare services for veterans, published in July 2023. There were several key Northern Ireland recommendations. Recommendation 8 stated: “A formal welfare services governance board should be created,” which should include Ministry of Defence officials “and the Veterans’ Commissioners for Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.” Recommendation 27 stated: “Consideration to retaining the NIVSO brand, alongside that of the OVA, should be given.” In conclusion, I will move to four recommendations for the future. These changes are essential to restoring the effectiveness of the Northern Ireland Veterans Commissioner and ensuring the office can fulfil its intended role. The first is to establish the full independence of the office. Commissioners’ offices must be fully independent from the NIO, with direct control over staffing, budgeting and decision making. The second is to increase the time allocation from the commissioner, from a part-time role to a full-time role, or at least to a more significant time allocation. The third is to reinstate the VSO as an independent and trusted body, with the commissioner playing a key role in shaping its service. The fourth and final recommendation is to improve reporting and communication. The commissioner should have the authority to submit reports directly to the Secretary of State and the ability to engage directly with relevant Ministers and Departments. That is why I have brought this debate and make these recommendations.

11:16:00

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Dowd. This is my first time responding to a Westminster Hall debate for the Government and I am delighted that it is on this issue; my grandfather was from Northern Ireland and served in the British Army, so this debate is very close to my heart. I am so grateful for his service and the service of all veterans. I congratulate the hon. Member for South Antrim (Robin Swann) on securing this important debate—his first Westminster Hall debate as well—and on his work to improve support for veterans in Northern Ireland over many years, including reconvening the Armed Forces Liaison Forum when he was Minister of Health for Northern Ireland. I know he is deeply committed to ensuring that veterans in his constituency, and indeed right across the UK, receive all the recognition they deserve and the support to which they are entitled. It is a commitment shared by this Government and, I am sure, by all in this Chamber—

I appreciate that the Minister is here today and speaks with a personal connection to this story. She will know that the commitments in NDNA were important and represented work done in the Defence Select Committee and through private Members’ Bills to make sure veterans in Northern Ireland had a strong voice, as their counterparts across the United Kingdom do. She should also know that the last number of years have proven very difficult for veterans, with the closure of the VSO and with the feeling that they are not treated the same as their counterparts across the UK. Does she understand that the most important initial step she could take would be to confirm that the NIO will advertise the position of Veterans Commissioner? Doing that now would indicate a commitment to that support.

Order. This is a half-hour debate. I accept that people are intervening on a very important matter, but I ask Members to be careful and considerate with their interventions in such debates.

Thank you, Mr Dowd. I thank the right hon. Member for his intervention. In fact, my next sentence was going to be one that will please him greatly, I think. I was about to say: which is why we have moved very quickly to advertise the position of the Northern Ireland Veterans Commissioner. In fact it will be advertised this week, with all the details available. This debate is therefore extremely timely and can serve as a very long job advertisement for the position. I hope that many people who listen to this debate, or read it in Hansard, will consider applying for this position. It is such an important position and one on which we have moved extremely quickly as a Government, demonstrating our commitment to supporting veterans.

Will the Minister give way?

If I keep giving way, I will not have enough time to speak, so I think I will continue. Mr Kinahan was appointed by the previous Government, which established the role of the Northern Ireland Veterans Commissioner. I join the Secretary of State in expressing my gratitude for Mr Kinahan’s dedicated work over the last four years on behalf of veterans and their families living in Northern Ireland. As has been said, it was one of the commitments made as part of the New Decade, New Approach political agreement in January 2020, which helped to restore devolved Government in Northern Ireland. As set out in New Decade, New Approach, the commissioner’s role was “to act as an independent point of contact to support and enhance outcomes for veterans in Northern Ireland.” Danny Kinahan, himself a veteran and subsequently an elected representative in Northern Ireland, took up the role on 1 September 2020. Over the last four years the commissioner and his team have worked to deliver that important support for veterans in Northern Ireland. Their work conducting direct veteran engagements and veteran information roadshows across Northern Ireland has been particularly valuable, as has their establishment of a veterans mental health committee, involving a number of key mental health service providers for veterans. The commissioner was also involved in encouraging collaborative working with the veterans sector, working closely with veterans commissioners in Scotland and Wales, with regimental associations and with the voluntary sector. He also sought to ensure that Northern Ireland veterans’ views were heard in my Department and across Whitehall with regard to the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023 and the development of the Independent Commission on Information Recovery and Reconciliation. In delivering its role, the Northern Ireland Veterans Commissioner’s Office works closely with a range of local statutory and non-statutory stakeholders. Previously that included the Veterans Support Office, which was formed in 2018 to develop capacity to deliver the armed forces covenant in Northern Ireland and played a role in co-ordinating and signposting to charity provision. It closed in June this year, as the way that support for veterans is provided in Northern Ireland continues to evolve. Many of the functions of the Veterans Support Office had over time been replicated by other organisations or superseded by other initiatives. That includes the establishment of the Veterans Commissioner’s Office, which now plays a leading role in communicating with and championing the needs of veterans resident in Northern Ireland, as well as building connections with partners delivering support to veterans across Northern Ireland. The Office for Veterans’ Affairs has additionally created a new role, based in Belfast, to provide dedicated strategic co-ordination of organisations, programmes and initiatives that support veterans’ wellbeing in Northern Ireland. That post will become operational imminently and is a post that is evolving to continue to support veterans. This is a Government of service that will always stand up for those who have served our country. My hon. Friend and colleague the Minister for Veterans and People is leading work across Government and with civil society to ensure that our veterans and their families get access to the health, housing, employment and other support that they need, wherever they reside in the United Kingdom. In Northern Ireland specifically, the specialist statutory welfare body for veterans, the Veterans Welfare Service, provides information and practical support to veterans and their families, including timely physiotherapy and psychological therapies to eligible veterans. The £500,000 Defence Medical Welfare Service pilot additionally supports veterans’ health and wellbeing in Northern Ireland and provides insight that will improve our understanding of veterans’ health needs. Veterans in need of housing advice, meanwhile, can contact the Government’s single housing support pathway, Operation FORTITUDE, where a dedicated team of advisers works to assist veterans across the UK. The armed forces covenant continues to be a key Government priority, with a commitment to fully implement the covenant in law. It ensures that the armed forces community is treated fairly across the UK, including in Northern Ireland, although its delivery is approached differently there due to Northern Ireland’s unique historical and political circumstances. As the hon. Member for South Antrim mentioned, at the beginning of September the Northern Ireland Veterans Commissioner met the Secretary of State, who accepted his resignation. Mr Kinahan explained his reasoning, and it has been reiterated publicly. I join the Secretary of State in expressing my gratitude for Mr Kinahan’s dedicated work. I am delighted that we started work immediately on the appointment of the new Veterans Commissioner—I hope that will begin tomorrow, but maybe later this week. The appointment of the new Northern Ireland Veterans Commissioner will be made on merit by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, following open and transparent process, which includes public advertising and independent assessment. Again, I encourage all suitably experienced people to apply for this important role. In the meantime, the Northern Ireland Veterans Commissioner’s Office has engaged and will continue to engage with veterans, signposting them to support, including while the new Veterans Commissioner is appointed. Indeed, I believe the office was involved in a successful event last month at Parliament Buildings in Belfast, which recognised and celebrated Northern Ireland veterans’ service in Iraq and Afghanistan, and which was sponsored by the hon. Gentleman’s party colleague, Lord Elliott. In addition, the Government are committed to continuing to support veterans in Northern Ireland through the Veterans Welfare Service, which has field teams across Northern Ireland linked in with various partner organisations and statutory bodies, and with the different initiatives funded via the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust. That includes the Veterans’ Places, Pathways and People programme, known as the Veterans’ Pathway in Northern Ireland, which is led by the charity Brooke House and does excellent work on improving the co-ordination of mental health support to veterans among partner organisations locally. The charity Beyond the Battlefield was also awarded £100,000 in March 2024 to provide wraparound services for veterans in Northern Ireland who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. I have listened carefully to the points the hon. Gentleman made about the basis for the role, including the ability to communicate, with veterans, health support and the other issues. I am pleased that he has raised those, and I am sure they will be read by any applicants for the role and by the future Veterans Commissioner once they are appointed. In conclusion, I thank the hon. Gentleman for securing this important debate. The role of the Northern Ireland Veterans Commissioner is an important element of the support provided to veterans across a wide range of areas that I have already detailed, in recognition of their service to our country. Let me once again encourage everyone who is suitably experienced to apply for the post, and reiterate that this Government recognise the dedicated service of all our veterans and are committed to supporting the veteran community across the whole of the United Kingdom. This is a Government of service that will always stand up for those who have served our country, and we will continue to do so. Question put and agreed to.

11:27:00