Guidance

VAPC east Midlands: meeting minutes 22 March 2021

Updated 12 March 2024

Date

Monday 22 March 2021

Location

Zoom meeting hosted by Chairman

Present:

Barry Smith (Chairman)
Dick Hurwood (Vice Chair/Health Lead)
David Taylor (Welfare Lead)
Michael Whitehead (Comms Lead)
Larry Henson (Secretary)
Helen Drew-Bradley (Training Lead)
Stav Melides (Industry Lead)
Neil Calvert
David Hawley
Gary Holden
Andy Holt
David Houghton
Paul McIntyre
Tom Smith
David Wilson
John Berry (part time)
Sam Wileman (part time)

Apologies

George Ellison
Jim Wright

Co-Opted Member

Bill Dixon-Dodds

1. Welcome

The Chairman welcomed members to the meeting which again was taking place on Zoom. With the current roadmap for the easing of restrictions, the Chairman highlighted that he hoped the next meeting in June would be able to take place face to face.

The Chairman welcomed the 5 new members who the Minister had recently approved onto the committee. Their background and interests w/r to the veteran community were highlighted later at Item 6.

The Chairman highlighted that the recent meeting with the Minister in March had provided the VAPC Chairs with further detail on his intent w/r to the governance of VAPC’s and our relationship with the different MoD/Cabinet Office organisations in the Veteran space. The ensuing activity was briefed at Item 8.

2. Declarations of Interest

There were no declarations of interest that would affect the work of the Committee.

3. Apologies for absence

The Chairman accepted apologies from those who were unable to attend the meeting. He highlighted that Jim Wright’s availability had been impacted by a number of family health issues and that he had offered him all the members’ best wishes for their recovery. The Chair reiterated that individuals’ attendance at committee meetings was a performance indicator that he was charged with monitoring by Vets UK.

4. Brief on future plans for RFCA & Update on ERS

The new MOD Regional Employer Engagement Director for the E Midlands, Lt Col Bruce Spencer, provided a comprehensive update. The figure of 3500 for the number of Forces Family Jobs that had been achieved through that programme attracted some discussion with ideas on leveraging specific marketable skills in the veteran community to further improve the job prospects of this cohort. The quote from industry leaders that veterans know “which way is up” was deemed very apposite. The other realised benefit to industry in monetary terms of £8,000 for other ranks, £12,000 for SNCOs and £18,000 for officers from their in-service training was also highlighted.

The question posed at the end of the presentation of how we change the dynamic of the UK landscape w/r to the linkage between industry and the AF with 6 million employers but only 7 thousand industry signatories to the Covenant was left open for longer debate at a future workshop. It was highlighted that with the recent Defence White Paper there was an ever increasing reliance on Reservists to provide resilience on operations as well as specialist skills that were no longer present within the Regular Forces.

5. VWS Update

The VWS representative provided a comprehensive brief prior to the meeting. The committee offered thanks for the work that had gone into preparing the brief. There were no significant issues raised by members.

The procedural change allowing VWS staff access to the Veterans Gateway is performing well and the numbers of clients serviced provided the committee with a good feel of the referral rate overall. It was decided to wait for another reporting period before requesting any further statistical analysis. The anomaly where the DTS referrals includes email contacts whereas the VWS referral data only captures the calls handled was highlighted and the Chair will discuss this with Vets UK.

EMVAPC retains the role of providing an overview of VWS activities in the EM region and a request for a representative to attend and present at the next meeting on 14 June 2021 would be made. (VWS to action).

6. New Appointees Introduction to the Committee

All 5 new appointees introduced themselves in turn to the other committee members, providing a brief resume on their career to date and their specific interest in the veteran community. The planned induction programme was discussed and it was agreed that, following that activity, discussions would be held on a one to one basis about the specific areas of interest new members wished to engage in. The intent was to form into separate teams for the workshop activity planned to take place after the next committee meeting on 14 June 2021.

7. Confirmation of Minutes of Meeting held on 18th Jan 2021 and Actions Arising

The draft minutes were confirmed with no amendment. There was a further discussion over content: the need for a bare record of discussions and decisions versus an information document was discussed. It was decided that more attachments would be utilised and that the level of detail would also be scrutinised for relevance.

Sub-group workstreams. An update on the findings from the various work-streams was provided later in the meeting.

8. Outbrief from March Ministerial meeting, VAPC Chairs Conference & Subsequent Chair of Chairs Activity

Ministerial Meeting - 9 March 2021

In the meeting, Minister reiterated his intent to sign-off on our new TORs in the near future. He perceived VAPCs being brought into the heart of the government’s activity w/r to veterans. The latest draft TORs were with the Legal Advisors in MoD with a forecast sign-off of 1 April 2021. (Post meeting note: subsequently delayed until end April 2021).

The 6 themes within the TORs mirrored those within the Veteran Strategy and he wished to understand veterans’ experiences w/r to these themes in the different regions of the UK. The bedrock of our activity was information gathering to inform policy. However, he had no intention of undermining the independence of VAPCs or making them subservient to either the OVA or the AFC team in MoD. Hence, in describing our role VAPCs were not only his regional “eyes and ears” but provided critical minds and independent voices.

Moreover, VAPCs were more than just commentators but were also facilitators in the delivery of the AFC out in the community/regions. Hence, VAPC’s would provide issues based feedback within a regional framework of any policy being taken forward but they would also help drive forward best practice across the different parts of the UK. Minister emphasised that he saw us as key part of the veteran ecosystem whose aim was to ensure every veteran and his family when leaving the service received the same outcome in terms of support, no matter where they live.

Minister highlighted that the embryonic OVA was grappling with a confused and chaotic veteran ecosystem and that he wanted VAPCs to achieve the strategic objective that resulted from our new role. He recognised that the TORs would need to be developed further; he saw the skill of our Chairs group as bringing this altogether. This included formalising the relationships with the Veteran Commissioners in the devolved nations. He wanted us to facilitate and help create a unified, professional and understandable offer to each and every veteran/Service Leaver that was the result of carefully thought through policy.

In terms of VAPCs operating beyond the scope of the current SI’s within legislation, Minister argued that the new TORs carry a low risk of challenge and an even lower risk of a successful challenge to their standing and that he was prepared to take that risk. However, it was his intent for us to be engaged with the Bill Team within MoD to develop the necessary statutory underpinnings for our expanded role which would form part of the Defence Reform Bill in May 2022. (All to note).

Chair of Chairs Conference - 10 March 2021

All the relevant briefs were provided to members subsequently. Key points that were raised in the Conference:

VWS:

There is increasing Ministerial interest in the management of complex cases. He is inserting himself into approximately 10 such cases/month. The policy on the provision of support in these cases (statutory vs 3rd sector) is still being debated. However, the procedure of having a dedicated case work manager, as with ICP4V individuals, is being adopted in these complex cases and a request for new resources to provide this additional level of support within Vets UK has been made to MoD. The intent is to provide an enhanced ICP4V service and a new Veteran Support Solution may emerge as a result.

VetsUK:

In terms of backlog, there were currently some 6400 cases within the WP regime and 2020 within the AFCS regime. The average clearance times (ACT) KPI’s for the WP and AFCS schemes had still not recovered, principally because of the “ageing” of WP cases due to the impact of COVID on staff attendance at Norcross. However, the success of the GP Pilot for Medical assessments, in terms of timeliness on the claims process, led to the view that a “mixed economy” of GP reviews alongside medical expert panels was the likely optimum solution in the future.

Appeals work continues at a similar pace to the pre-COVID environment. The Widows review (some 13k cases in total) has had an impact purely as a capacity issue. However, some 70% of current calls to the organisation are requests for claim updates/reporting of client changes and these will be subsumed into the new processes within the Digitisation Programme. The impact of the McCabe decision as well as the McCloud decision had been built into the Transition Programme and modelling suggested that the organisation will achieve record low numbers of outstanding claims as the programme achieves FOC. A key communication issue is to address the positive impact of digitisation with the launch of the portal this Spring. The programme will also mean that the organisation will be in the vanguard of the veteran identity process within government.

DTS:

There have been some 800 referrals through DTRP, the sole method of gaining access to DTS. Approximately 2.8% of SLs are currently being referred to DTS (against a maximum 5% target referral rate). Key issue is achieving full staffing levels of DTS personnel (a particular issue in the EM) but the strategy of a digital by default basis for the service has been vindicated. The communication aspect of facilitating access to end services provided by either LAs or 3rd sector suppliers and not providing a service per se needs to be emphasised. In terms of policy, JSP 100 is going through a re-draft and with regard to the Life Skills portfolio DTS will have a stakeholder role rather than a leadership role. The current focus is on stakeholder engagement as well as the military units within the different regions. There is an issue of clients wanting to disengage but the approach being adopted is a blended solution with DTS taking a lead role for the 0 - 2 year period after transition with VWS taking on the through life aspects.

• In terms of training, a new syllabus and training objectives was to be agreed by Vets UK with the VAPC Chairs and their training leads. The intent was to leverage the e-learning packages being developed by the Operational Policy Development Manager as part of the Digitisation project.

• A brief from the MoD Covenant Team emphasised local and regional level engagement was critical in the scope of the new legislation. The statutory guidance for service providers would be published in the Spring and its content could be adjusted during a consultation phase that will be delivered in a regional construct using the in place Military Civil Integration teams.

• A brief from the OVA highlighted the importance of ground truth in the delivery of policy and how it is vital to achieving understanding of the impact of particular initiatives. VAPCs were seen as key to this understanding. It was recognised that the question set that VAPCs would utilise needed to be crafted such that the focus can be adjusted over time as well as recognising regional differences. In terms of governance for VAPCs new role, it was agreed that a Strategy Delivery Group would meet 4 times a year and would include Ministerial engagement. The initial focus was to be the 6 themes within the Veterans Strategy alongside any tasks laid on VAPCs by the MoD Covenant Team. However, it was emphasised that we must become more relevant to the veteran community. An April start date for the new TORs was targeted but it was recognised that it will take several months for the new dynamics between the different organisations to settle. Within the VAPCs a particular issue was the synthesis of different views across all the committees. However, the provision of qualitative insight into the day to day reality of delivery of the AFC in each region was not to be lost. (All to note).

Subsequent Chair of Chairs Activity

It was subsequently agreed that an Operational Model paper for VAPCs in England would be developed for consideration by Chairs in May 21. It needed to take account of local democratic structures in the different regions as well as levels of need, levels of engagement between the AF community (including veterans) and local communities as well as levels of competency and engagement within individual committees. (All to note).

9. Individual Member Reports - Updates future plans

Communications

The Comms lead highlighted that he intended to develop a WhatsApp group for EMVAPC internal business activities.

Health

The Vice Chair as Head of the Health SC reported that:

• the VAPC health national subcommittee has a further meeting planned in April
• the Veterans Hearing Clinic initiative with UHL remained stalled waiting for the Business Case to be developed
• healthwatch engagement needed to be developed. The organization is a critical friend to the NHS
• the Veterans Health Care Alliance in our region had a key role in ensuring veterans access to NHS services

Policy & Governance

The Chair as Policy & Governance SC head highlighted that the there was a continuing reduction in AFC Partnership Board activity across the region. Efforts continue to try and ensure that the secretaries of the different Boards received the latest updates in terms of the various Centre initiatives and relevant research reports on the veteran community to share with stakeholders.

Two successful virtual meetings had occurred in the last quarter, one in the Leicester, Leicestershire & Rutland region, the other in Nottingham & Nottinghamshire. There were no major highlights other than discussions on how to ensure LA policy pays “Due Regard” to the AFC. It was recognised that the government was not going to be prescriptive about how to ensure policy recognises AFC principles. The delivery of statutory guidance and the associated policy tool box was seen as vital for the LA teams to implement the necessary changes to policy.

Welfare

A database of 3rd sector capabilities, addressing both breadth and depth, in order to assess their resilience and effectiveness in supporting the veteran cohort they were targeting, had been agreed. Work would now begin to populate the database. The intent was to share with key stakeholders in each of the Counties. The aim of the database was to improve the outcomes for veterans from the activities of the PCN’s social prescribers.

ELC Future Engagement

The dedicated sub-committee review of the Enhanced Learning Credit was still awaiting a response from the MoD policy team within the Chief of Defence People area - (Training, Education, Skills, Recruitment & Resettlement (TESSR). The scope of the review was also to expand to include other CTP-provided courses that appeared to be cancelled with little regard to their impact on specific veteran cadres and their training needs. (JW/SM, HD-B/DH to action).

Transition

Activity continues to develop a proposed pilot project to address the mentoring needs of Service Leavers (SLs) who wish to pursue a self-employment route in their post-military career. Members include the Institute of Directors Defence Ambassador in Lincolnshire & Rutland, the Regional Employment Engagement Director, DWP and the Federation of Small Business’ Defence Lead. (SM to action).

Veteran interaction with CJS in Derbyshire

No change. The team awaits the release of the Covenant grant funded study into the needs of the Veteran community in Derbyshire before further engagement activity occurs. The study is being reviewed by Derbyshire CC to ensure it meets the requirements set out in the Covenant grant award. (AH/GE to action).

Mental Health of Veterans in Prison

A Covenant grant award of £70k for the Prison Radio Association has been recently awarded. Broadcast directly into prisoners’ cells, the programmes provide familiar voices with shared experiences bringing companionship, reassurance, advice and access to specialist support. Engagement activity is taking place to ensure the needs of those veterans in prison in the East Midlands are addressed. (JB to action).

Housing - Section 106 initiatives

Engagement activity continues with the Planning staffs within the different Lincolnshire Councils to try and get recognition of a good practice model used elsewhere in England of using Section 106 funding within developments to create dedicated veteran housing in a similar fashion to the directive on low cost housing developers have to adopt. The intent is to meld this work into a broader veteran housing imitative focusing on the strategic redevelopment of 2 major sites in our region: St George’s Barracks in Rutland and RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire. This will be a key workstream to be considered at our next committee meeting and subsequent workshop activity. (TS to action).

10. Training of Members

An induction training package had been developed and rolled out to new members. A series of Zoom sessions with individuals were planned to support the package as well as identify further training needs. The Away Day construct would be utilised alongside the next planned committee meeting on 14 June 2021 at PWOG Barracks.

11. AOB

Consultation Activity

The new Mental Health Act had gone into its consultation period. JB had carried out a review and there were no specific references to support for veterans. It was agreed that members should input as individuals as well as the committee providing a coordinated response. It was felt that we should highlight the specific demands caused by combat related PTSD as well as TBI. (All to note)

12. Post-meeting note

Mr P McIntyre (recent appointee) had requested to resign w.i.e and his request had been granted. Similarly, Mr J Wright had requested to resign w.i.e due to changed family circumstances. His request had been granted but he had been offered an alumni position on the committee which he had accepted.

13. Date of Next Meeting

The next meeting is planned to take place at 10.30 am on 14 June 2021 at PWOG Grantham. It would be followed by a Whiteboard session to develop our Strategic Plan as well as the design of a new set of Sub Committee constructs. (All to note)