Evidence of meeting #60 for Veterans Affairs in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was within.

A recording is available from Parliament.

On the agenda

MPs speaking

Also speaking

Rob Rowntree  Deputy Head, Welfare and Support, Veterans UK
Carolyn Short  Assistant Head, War Pensions Scheme and Armed Forces Compensation Scheme, Veterans UK
Yvonne Sanderson  Assistant Head, Operational Policy, Planning and Training, Veterans UK
Paul Kingham  Chair of Chairs, Veterans Advisory and Pensions Committees, Veterans UK
Captain Mark Heffron  Deputy Head, Service Personnel Support, Welfare, Ministry of Defence of the United Kingdom
Beryl Preston  Assistant Head, Service Personnel Support, Compensation, Ministry of Defence of the United Kingdom
Martin Goudie  Business Development Manager, Veterans Welfare Service, Veterans UK

11:35 a.m.

Liberal

Bob Bratina Liberal Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, ON

I have in my riding in Hamilton, Ontario, a gentleman who served on a submarine in the British navy in the Second World War. He's in his nineties now. How easy is it for him to access U.K. veterans' benefits?

11:35 a.m.

Deputy Head, Welfare and Support, Veterans UK

Rob Rowntree

I would hope that it's straightforward, but certainly tomorrow we're launching in this country a piece of software. It's called the Veterans' Gateway, and colleagues in London may want to jump in to talk more about it. That facility is primarily web-based, but we've deliberately enabled live web chat for overseas customers. As long as people can access the Internet, then we should be able to answer their questions. Other than that, they can still call the U.K. or write to us at Veterans UK. Again, it's available all through the website. You should be able to see how to contact us and if there's something they need, then go ahead.

However, our colleagues may have an idea of what we do in Canada just now for British veterans. I'm not sure if there's anything specific that colleagues at Norcross in London have.

11:40 a.m.

Assistant Head, Operational Policy, Planning and Training, Veterans UK

Yvonne Sanderson

Individuals can access, as we've already said, Rob, the claim forms from the gov.uk website. There's immediate access there through the Internet. We do actually still get quite a few claims for people of that age group of over 90, and obviously we do treat them as a priority as well.

11:40 a.m.

Liberal

Bob Bratina Liberal Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, ON

Mr. Rowntree, you mentioned a “gateway” website in the U.K. What's the name of it again?

11:40 a.m.

Deputy Head, Welfare and Support, Veterans UK

Rob Rowntree

It's called the Veterans' Gateway.

11:40 a.m.

Liberal

Bob Bratina Liberal Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, ON

Got it. Thank you.

11:40 a.m.

Deputy Head, Welfare and Support, Veterans UK

Rob Rowntree

That goes fully live in the U.K. tomorrow.

11:40 a.m.

Liberal

Bob Bratina Liberal Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, ON

Thank you.

11:40 a.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Neil Ellis

Ms. Lambropoulos.

June 19th, 2017 / 11:40 a.m.

Liberal

Emmanuella Lambropoulos Liberal Saint-Laurent, QC

Hello. Thank you for being here with us today and for answering our questions.

Being a young 'un, I'm going to ask some questions regarding younger veterans, which we have a lot more of. That's the new trend, obviously.

First of all, how do you make sure you reach the younger population of veterans? Do you wait for them to reach out to you in order to receive services, or is there a program in place for them to receive services upon discharge?

11:40 a.m.

Business Development Manager, Veterans Welfare Service, Veterans UK

Martin Goudie

One of the last reports that was done focused on exactly what you just raised about our younger veterans. We introduced, for those who are departing, what is called the “early service leavers” program for anyone who has served four years or under. It makes sure they are provided with more of a rounded transition that focuses on the aspects they will definitely need upon leaving the services. We are likely looking at individuals who signed up at perhaps 17 years old and are departing at 21.

We also have outreach within the early service leavers. We have a special protocol to refer them on to the veterans welfare service, similar to the transitional one I spoke about earlier. That's how we are pulling those individuals to us, to ensure that they get the right information.

In the wider capacity, there are things like, as Rob Rowntree mentioned, the Veterans' Gateway. The fact that it is going to be web portal-based with a chat facility, text facility, and email will allow for more interaction. It will also be fully mobile and app-based.

11:40 a.m.

Liberal

Emmanuella Lambropoulos Liberal Saint-Laurent, QC

So you're moving more toward technology as well to make it more accessible.

11:40 a.m.

Business Development Manager, Veterans Welfare Service, Veterans UK

Martin Goudie

It will be accessible via technology, but with the veterans welfare service, for example, still ensuring that the autonomy is there for our staff to make decisions on how they best support any veteran. I'm sure that within Canada as well, with its dispersed nature, you have veterans who may be isolated. We can't just focus everything on technology. We'll still be required to visit those individuals as we progress through the years.

11:40 a.m.

Liberal

Emmanuella Lambropoulos Liberal Saint-Laurent, QC

Okay. Thank you.

I guess I'm looking for a more specific answer to the same question. I understand that there is a transition program, but then is there a way to keep informed on how they're doing later on, once they are through with their transition program? Obviously a lot of veterans come back with PTSD much later, many years after they have been discharged. I'm wondering if you have a way to keep track of who has been served and who hasn't.

11:40 a.m.

Gp Capt Mark Heffron

Perhaps I could come in with regard to this.

The Veterans' Gateway is a single point of contact that people can go to, but it is not the only central point of contact. There are many other organizations. For example, there's the British army regimental system, and a lot of people will be involved with that and with the organizations that serve particular units within the regiment. That organization keeps an eye on its individuals. It will look after them continually once they have left the services.

In addition, we have the once-a-year contact that has now been put in place. Initially it's at six months, then at 12 months. After that, every 12 months after a service member leaves we contact them, and clearly the early service leavers as well.

Then there is all the work we're doing whilst they're in service. I think we alluded to that already. It's something new. We do an awful lot for our guys, whether they are young or old, through their entire career—gaining qualifications, mapping them across the civilian society, helping them with the purchase of housing, and helping them with a whole range of things along the way.

The idea with this is that we have an overarching transition policy that brings all of these different themes together and brings all the organizations together into one, and that we do likewise with the family, which is important. We will be assisting thousands with finding employment and with recognizing their skills whilst they are connected with a service clerk so that the whole unit, when it transitions out, is best placed to be a part of society. Then there is the contact piece, and of course the young people are included in all that.

11:45 a.m.

Liberal

Emmanuella Lambropoulos Liberal Saint-Laurent, QC

Currently, what is the approximate percentage of veterans who are receiving services?

11:45 a.m.

Business Development Manager, Veterans Welfare Service, Veterans UK

Martin Goudie

In 2016-17, the number of individuals assisted by the veterans welfare service was over 50,000. That is contacts where we may assist for any of the schemes, any of the pension claims, as well as wider holistic support. That's in one single year. That has increased over the last five years, every single year.

11:45 a.m.

Liberal

Emmanuella Lambropoulos Liberal Saint-Laurent, QC

Thank you.

11:45 a.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Neil Ellis

Mr. Brassard.

11:45 a.m.

Conservative

John Brassard Conservative Barrie—Innisfil, ON

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Let me begin first of all by saying that as Canadians we're closely monitoring the situation in Great Britain with respect to the terrorist attacks that have been going on lately, and I think I can say on behalf of the committee that we stand with you during this very difficult period you're going through.

I want to talk about the loss of identity. That's one of the issues we hear about so often as we deal with transitioning members from our Canadian Forces into civilian life. We do build our troops up to deal with combat, to deal in operational theatre situations, but we do very little in terms of bringing them down from that and preparing them for a transition into civilian life.

I'm wondering if you can speak to what program, if any, the British armed services has to prepare soldiers for their transition to civilian life, to bring them down from those operational combat and theatre situations.

11:45 a.m.

Business Development Manager, Veterans Welfare Service, Veterans UK

Martin Goudie

Anyone who is departing a combat area will go through what's called “decompression,” where they will spend three or four days—generally coming back from the Middle East, it's in Cyprus—in which they are brought down from the immediate feelings that they receive.

When they return to the U.K., there are what is called TRiM-trained personnel within all units, who will monitor their personnel for any initial signs of concern. As they progress through their careers and approach the time when they are going to depart, there are two main areas that an individual will depart through. If they have done their full career in the military, they will have two years' worth of resettlement support. If they are deciding to depart of their own volition, they will have one year, because they will sign off and then spend one year's worth of resettlement.

In that period, if they have done their full service, they will receive seven weeks' worth of full time off to conduct training, including where we put them through what is called the career transition partnership, which is where they receive specialist support in things like interview techniques, training, education, and CV writing, in order to assist them as best as possible for departure. That also allows them to do things like gain work experience in different areas, in different departments, during that one-year or two-year period.

That obviously doesn't include the other aspects of ongoing through-career training that Group Captain Heffron spoke about earlier, and aspects that the British services provide.

11:50 a.m.

Conservative

John Brassard Conservative Barrie—Innisfil, ON

When they come back from combat situations or operational theatres, members of the trained team you referred to are looking for signs. What specific signs, what criteria are they looking for in those soldiers who are coming back?

11:50 a.m.

Gp Capt Mark Heffron

That's a difficult one. What I would add is that it is all the experts you would expect to be involved, particularly initially at the decompression piece where the guys are straight out of operations, the idea being that it's a location away from the actual hostilities. This is the point at which you have the medical teams, the psychiatric teams, the padres, and the chaplains. You have all of those trained individuals to talk to the individuals, to signpost them, and to pick up on those points. Then they feed that back to the relevant unit. Back at the base in the U.K., the individuals will receive the more specialist examinations they need.

I'm not sure exactly how they're doing that. It's not in my expertise.

11:50 a.m.

Conservative

John Brassard Conservative Barrie—Innisfil, ON

On the issue of the two-year resettlement for full career and one-year resettlement for those who are being medically released, how long of a process prior to their release would they go through this transition piece in their career if they're being medically released from the services?

11:50 a.m.

Business Development Manager, Veterans Welfare Service, Veterans UK

Martin Goudie

Anyone who is going to be medically discharged automatically is drawn to the full resettlement package, which means they automatically receive up to the seven weeks' worth of training. In addition to that, as part of the policy, no individual will depart through medical discharge until their medical pathway's clear and they are able to leave the service into future, whether it be, education, training, or employment. They receive as much of a package as possible up until the date of discharge.

In addition to that, we also have, as I spoke about earlier, personnel recovery units, which is where individuals who have suffered significant injuries—are wounded, injured, sick—and those with other injuries now will be placed in personnel recovery units to allow them to receive even more dedicated and direct support. Within that, they will have a singular welfare officer or a personnel recovery officer who will have 12 individuals on their caseload, and they and their families are provided with extensive one-to-one support to ensure employment, housing, schooling for children, move-of-house, and adaptation of houses through the Defence Infrastructure Organisation.

Thank you.