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Armed Forces: Severely Wounded Personnel

My Lords, my honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary in the other place has regular meetings with many of the organisations concerned and I am sure would respond to any request that was made of him. It is important that we work together with the charitable sector on these issues, not least because it has a very good record in this area, a good history and a great deal of confidence from those who are in the services. Noble Lords mentioned Headley Court and referred to the visit. It is an important facility and there is nothing quite like it in the National Health Service. It is commonly agreed that there is world-class care for the patients there, providing clinical rehabilitation, training, a centre for rehabilitation and research, and all of it tailored to individual needs. We have to do the best we can. The department recently helped with work that is going on there, and the recent Help for Heroes commitment of £8 million to extend facilities is very welcome. We should pay tribute to the work that has been done. We have to do our best to protect our people when we can, to give them the immediate treatment that they need, and to provide the long-term support that some, though not necessarily all, will need over many years. The focus of much of this debate has been on retention and on trying to keep people in the military family, if that is what they wish. It is always our intention to retain injured service personnel if it is possible to find worthwhile service employment for them. Each service considers each case individually and works very closely with the medical authorities, taking account of the wishes of the individual service person. This ensures that our personnel are returned to work even if their injury, sickness or disability prevents them undertaking a full range of activities. We want to do this as soon as is reasonable, but clearly we have to do it in such a way that we avoid any employment which would make their underlying medical condition worse. In the case of the Army, applications to retain or discharge injured army personnel are currently made by commanding officers on a case-by-case basis and on the recommendation of a full medical board to the Army Personnel Centre. Commanding officers are given advice on this and are currently employing injured personnel wherever possible within units, subject to the individual’s wish to remain and having a worthwhile role. Where the wish is not to remain within their current unit, individuals may elect to leave the Army or, provided that they are above the minimum medical standard, transfer to an alternative cap badge—for example, from the Infantry to the Advocate General’s Corps—and, again, this process would be facilitated by the Army Personnel Centre, which is developing and has expertise in this area. The Royal Air Force follows a similar procedure called the medical boarding process. Where an individual’s permanent medical standard is below that required for their current trade, they may be considered for employment within a different trade, obviously with retraining and reskilling being available where that is necessary. In the case of the Royal Navy, the majority of personnel with more severe injuries—specifically those injuries sustained while on active service—are young Royal Marines. These young men have led full, active lives and may or may not find the administrative or clerical sectors as fulfilling, meaningful and appealing as their originally chosen career as a marine in a commando unit. Where the Royal Navy is able to make such opportunities available, an individual can choose to remain in service; or they may choose to make a new start in civilian life, and in that case the appropriate help with transition will be available. The real balance that has to be struck is between the wishes of the individual and how far you can accommodate their levels of injury, health problems and abilities because they may need to do different tasks and will need reskilling. We have made significant progress. We have outstanding care and outstanding welfare care. It is important that we recognise that that is necessary—it can be an emotive area—and, as I mentioned, we work with some of the charities that have a great deal of experience in this area. We appoint visiting officers to provide information and practical support for families, and specialist welfare workers are appointed to co-ordinate the very often numerous agencies that are involved. There cannot be one package. The noble Lord, Lord Lee, asked whether information was available. Because every situation is different, we have to respond to the specific needs of each individual. Other points have been raised but there is not time to answer them all. So far as numbers are concerned, the ones that I have are the total of those who have been very seriously and seriously injured in Iraq, which is 222, and in Afghanistan the total figure is 197. That gives some idea of the scale of the problem and the learning curve that has gone on in the recent past. We give outstanding medical treatment and we regard these people as individuals and try to meet their individual needs. That is important. Everyone has said that we need to ensure that these people are kept within the military family if that is at all possible. That is something we understand and have tried to work for. Provided we can find a worthwhile role for these people, and provided they as individuals want to stay within the Armed Forces, that is what we try to do. As everyone has said, our Armed Forces are the best in the world. Their dedication and sacrifice are unquestioned and it is only right that the care and support they receive should be equal to that. We are committed to ensuring that that is the case.