§ 19. Mrs. Betty Williams (Conwy)What steps he is taking to improve the handling of veterans' issues. [40916]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence (Dr. Lewis Moonie)Since the announcement of the veterans initiative, and my appointment as Minister with responsibility for veterans' affairs one year ago, we have built up a partnership with veterans organisations and with other Government Departments to develop an integrated policy for veterans. This is well advanced, and will address veterans' concerns across government and identify means of improving the delivery of services to veterans, particularly the most vulnerable.
20 Working through a veterans forum and a ministerial taskforce, we have agreed an action plan and commissioned nine working groups, made up jointly of representatives of the veterans community and of interested Departments, to identify ways of giving practical expression to the plan. We expect to see the first results of this work later this year.
§ Mrs. WilliamsI thank my hon. Friend for that answer. Several of my constituents were very grateful for the settlement for far east prisoners of war that was announced in November 2000. Does my hon. Friend recognise, however, that prisoners of war who suffered horribly in German camps and on forced marches have still not been recognised in this way? I believe that they have been unfairly treated.
§ Dr. MoonieThis is a matter to which we return time and again during parliamentary questions and in Adjournment debates. I recognise the level of suffering of former prisoners in German prisoner of war camps, but it did not, in general, match that experienced by the prisoners of war of the Japanese. This matter has been very carefully looked at in the past, and I believe that the prisoners of war to whom my hon. Friend refers have been treated sympathetically and appropriately.