Guidance

VAPC south east England: meeting minutes 4 October 2021

Updated 11 July 2023

Present

• Rob Nitsch (RN)
• Graham Cable (GC)
• Robin Draper (RD)
• Steve Fradley (SF)
• Simon Furlong (SFL)
• Craig Jones (CJ)
• Andrew McHugh (AMH)
• Ash Merry (AM)
• Carron Snagge (CS)
• Kate Steels (KS)
• Neil Strachan (NS)
• Fiona Sweny (FS)

Apologies

• David Anderson (DA)
• Dan Brooks (DB)
• Clive Hunt (CH)
• Amran Hussain (AH)
• Kath Hutton (KH)
• Stephen James (SJ)
• Patrick Lyster-Todd (PLT)
• Ian Talbot (IT)

Welcome and apologies

RN welcomed all to the meeting and noted apologies (see above), further advising that DB, CJ and AMH have happily agreed to serve for another three years (the latter two from their original run out dates of early next year, and the former as of earlier this year).

RN also welcomed the decision of DA and RD to remain as a co-opted member, thereby allowing the Committee to continue to benefit from the expertise of all five.

RN informed the meeting that JF, JP, AP, AS had all recently left and had been thanked for their hard work and support. KH will also be transferring to EVAPC imminently, and was sadly unable to attend this meeting to bid us farewell.

This meant that we now have two vacancies to take us to our maximum of 20 members (plus those co-opted), so we will look to recruit new members, with a focus on those counties (Berks and Bucks) where we have no representation in our region. Members were requested to inform RN if they know of any suitable candidates in those counties.

Action: Members to let RN know of any potential interested candidates in Berks and Bucks.

Minutes of previous meeting and matters arising

The minutes of the previous meeting were agreed as a correct record. No matters of note arose.

Action: GC to send Veterans UK (afternote: now done).

Chair’s update

RN updated the meeting on ongoing efforts to update the statutory role of VAPCs, which is coalescing on a well founded offering.

RN also confirmed the subcommittee (SC) leads, which is regarded as an appropriate structure to deliver targeted effort in support of veterans and their families in our region. In summary, after a period of rebuilding and consolidation, we are now on a strong footing to deliver that support, and this was the confirmed focus for today’s meeting.

Subcommittee updates

Making a home in civilian society

As apologies had been received from PLT, his notes have been placed on the SEVAPC web portal.

Veterans and the Law

SF updated members on issues relating to veterans and the Criminal Justice System (CJS) both nationally and locally.

These included an increasing awareness within the system of circumstances and issues that might affect veterans (such as PTSD), along with improved means of identifying those veterans and their issues, and dealing with them (much good work in our region, where there are a number of veterans in custody).

Currently, figures indicate that 3.5% of all offenders in custody have identified as Reg and Reserve veterans (or 2,800 out of 80,000) and about the same percentage are involved in probation (no breakdown related to gender, but the general proportion of female detainees is around 5%, so 4000 total, therefore very few female veterans in the CJS).

This gives a total of about 11,000 veterans involved in some form within the CJS at any one time, but this number may increase as the court system catches up after Covid.

SF indicated there is increasing research focus on veterans in the CJS and what causes them to get involved in criminal behaviour (sometimes complex, interlinked pressures), along with what might be done about that.

More detail is provided on the SEVAPC web portal.

SF was asked how we could help veterans in the CJS in our region, which elicited the response that support to effective transition was probably the most effective means to help veterans avoid issues with the CJS.

Finance and Debt

SFL updated members on issues and activities relating to veterans and finance and debt (including with WPS and AFCS) and requested members to provide case studies to help the SC formulate an understanding of issues and possible solutions (perhaps by speaking to VWS). This can then be fed up to the national level with the aim of informing how these issues might be better managed. SFL’s presentation is available on the SEVAPC web portal.

Action: Members to seek out and provide case studies by Christmas where possible.

Health and Wellbeing

CJ updated members on issues and activities relating to veterans’ health and wellbeing (including OP COURAGE and referral pathways), with a focus on the recent withdrawal from Afghanistan, as well as how veterans can be encouraged to register with GPs at the point of discharge, rather than encountering problems when they fall ill.

CJ requested members to consider whether they are noticing emerging trends from casework (possibly by contacting local VWS reps), along with what might be done to mitigate issues, which can be fed into national discussions on these matters. It would be particularly interesting to determine whether the Afghanistan withdrawal is causing or exacerbating issues.

CJ’s notes are available on the SEVAPC web portal.

Action: Members to pass on emerging trends if observed.

Employment, Education and Skills

KS updated members on issues and activities relating to veterans’ employment, education and skills, covering: guaranteed interview scheme for veterans in the public sector; national insurance incentives for employment of veterans; the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme, the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust grant access and Forces Connect South East. Also covered was how the forthcoming Armed Forces Act might impact on these areas, and particularly public bodies.

A case study as to the effectiveness of the guaranteed interview scheme was provided by SJ, which led to an indication that FOI requests might need to be submitted to some public sector bodies in our region to see how effective the scheme was proving more broadly.

GC provided a brief overview of educational opportunities for veterans and their families, with a request that any members dealing with higher education providers urge them to consider the financial and academic benefits of recruiting veterans and their family members as students and staff.

The presentation is available on the SEVAPC web portal.

Any other business

GC updated members on communications plans.

Date of next meeting

The next meeting date has been fixed for 22 November 2021, to be held face-to-face at SUOTC. The Army’s 11 Brigade Resettlement Officer (local to our region) will invited to attend to update the committee on relevant matters, and the meeting will focus on gaps in support provision for veterans and what can be done about them, along with how we continue to build our local networks.

An agenda will be circulated in due course.

Close

Having summarised the meeting, and with no further business, RN closed proceedings at 5pm.