§ Mr. SwayneTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 13 November 2001,Official Report, column 630W, if he will publish the terms of reference he has agreed on policy development for veterans' affairs. [15539]
§ Dr. MoonieThe terms of reference for the task force responsible for the development of our policy on veterans' affairs have now been published on the Ministry of Defence website "www.mod.uk", together with other174W information about the initiative. They can be found under Contacts—Veterans' Advice Unit. The terms of reference are as follows:
To ensure that the policies of individual Government Departments and of devolved administrations are co-ordinated to produce a coherent and integrated response to veterans' needs and concerns.To identify and prioritise areas of particular need within the veterans' community and develop policies to address these as appropriate, focusing in particular on the most vulnerable.To improve co-operation between government and veterans' organisations, seeking to ensure that Government policies address the reasonable concerns of veterans and that the work of veterans' organisations is supportive of, or at least consistent with, government policies.To ensure that the Government's current support and future plans for veterans is effectively understood by them.To ensure that the contribution of ex-Service personnel is appropriately recognised at the national and the individual level within the country.