Guidance

VAPC south east England: meeting minutes 20 July 2020

Updated 11 July 2023

Present

• David Anderson (DA) (Acting Chairman)
• Graham Cable (GC) (co-opted)
• Robin Draper (RD)
• Joan Ferrer (JF)
• Kath Hutton (KH)
• Soundararajan Jagdish (SJ)
• Craig Jones (CJ)
• Patrick Lyster-Todd (PLT)
• Andrew McHugh (AMH)
• Paddy Nicoll (PN)
• Roger Nield (RN)
• James Partridge (JP)
• Ian Talbot (IT)

Apologies

• Carron Snagge (CS)
• Kate Steels (KS)
• Alexandra Sard (AS)
• Alex Platts (AP)
• Clive Hunt (CH)
• Dan Brooks (DB)

Welcome

Welcome DA thanked all for joining the meeting, which had been delayed from 22 Jun 20, and welcomed those new members attending.

Apologies

Apologies were noted.

Introductions

Members briefly introduced themselves.

Declaration of interest

There were no declarations of interest. PN suggested that we should have a register of interests rather than asking at the start of meetings. However, after the point was made by KH that declarations were specifically to do with potential financial gain, the suggestion was dropped.

Minutes of last meeting

The minutes from the last meeting were approved and DA undertook to arrange for them to be published by MOD.

Matters arising

There were no mattes arising other than those issues already included in the agenda.

Progress against work streams

DA briefly outlined his plan to revitalise the Committee, making the point that it followed the lines from previous discussions but adding training and some ideas drawn from other members’ comments. The document was aimed to engender a more proactive approach. Discussions followed on the five strands of the Plan.

Training

DA stated that there was a need to improve knowledge originally identified by the training needs analysis undertaken in Dec 18 and proposed that there should be a training aspect to all future meetings. There was broad agreement with the aim and it was also suggested that there should be a training workshop.

It was agreed that:

• developmental requirements already identified should be addressed at future meetings with new topics addressed as required
• DA would take the lead on training once the new Chairman was in place.

Physical and mental health plus well-being

SJ, KH and CJ outlined the work they had undertaken to date and asked that any documentation members had concerning veterans’ medical needs from non-Solent areas of the region were forwarded to KH. There was discussion regarding the relative value of research at a strategic level and ‘on the ground’ evaluation and the use of ASDIC [Association of ex-Service Drop-In Centres] to help facilitate our research.

It was agreed that:

• members would forward any relevant papers relating to their counties to KH
• research at different levels should be undertaken in parallel
• SJ, KH and CJ would work towards the development of a survey regarding whether veterans needs are being met.

Welfare and casework

DA reiterated the requirement for VWS to give a full brief including casework statistics, problems and any emerging themes to all future meetings and the need for all Committee members to meet veterans. IT confirmed that he would undertake the lead on this work strand but this was on the basis that others would contribute as required and DA confirmed this was the aim.

It was agreed that:

• DA would confirm the requirement for a full VWS brief with the VWS Regional Manager and Rob Rowntree

• all Committee members would meet with veterans on a regular basis to ensure that they had an understanding of problems on the ground and report any good practice, issues, etc on the VAPC Hub once they had access

• IT would lead work on this area and all members would contribute in support of his plan.

Armed Forces Champions and Local Government

AMH outlined the content of his note regarding future liaison with Local Authorities, which he and KS had agreed. The areas he and KS were most interested in promoting were the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme and the Armed Forces Covenant (AFC), particularly guaranteed interviews for veterans and identifying veterans on housing lists. AMH also highlighted the need to avoid duplication between what VAPC and other organisations – particularly SERFCA [South East Reserve Forces’ and Cadets’ Association] - were undertaking, which was strongly supported by all.

It was agreed that:

• AMH and KS would seek a meeting with SERFCA to ensure our work was not duplicating what was already in train and collate a list of AF Champions across the South East
• KS would develop a simple survey to be sent to all Local Authorities in the Region to identify progress with veterans’ guaranteed interviews and housing issues.

Communications

Responsibility for the Comms workstream was discussed and PLT agreed that he and DB would work on this together.

It was greed that DA would put PLT and DB in contact.

Centenary celebrations

DA asked whether, following the decision to scale down/cancel the national VAPC Centenary celebrations next year (including a planned SEVAPC conference) members felt it would be worth considering a training event/mini-conference which could be used to raise the VAPC’s profile as well as improving members’ knowledge. DA emphasised that he was not asking for a definite commitment but purely wanted an indication of the Committee’s views. RD promoted the concept of a full day training workshop and others were generally in agreement with the wider concept.

It was agreed that:

• DA would speak to the new Chairman when appointed regarding the idea of a training event/conference next year
• KH would cancel the booking of the RMT for 26. Jun 21.

Appointment of secretary

DA asked if anyone was prepared to undertake the role of secretary and explained his view that the secretary would be an integral part of managing the Committee’s business working closely with the new Chairman. GC kindly volunteered, which was welcomed by DA who confirmed the appointment and his gratitude.

Any other business

a. RD asked if it would be possible to circulate a list of contact details. This was considered a good idea; in addition CJ suggested a WhatsApp group could also be useful, which was again supported.

It was greed that DA would compile a contact list and seek agreement for its circulation and whether individuals wish to join a WhatsApp group.

b. DA mentioned that even with new members the Committee lacked representation in Buckinghamshire. AMH undertook to forward a contact who might be able to help.

c. SJ asked about how other Regions were approaching the national aim to be more proactive. DA explained that he did not have exact details, but had the impression that others were going through a similar process and whilst there were differences in style, what he had seen suggested that the Regions were all attempting to achieve the same sort of outputs although some had a more AFC centred approach.

Arrangement for next meeting

The next meeting would take place on 21 Sep 20, subject to confirmation by the new Chair, who should be in post by that time.