MPs demand a new ‘world-class centre’ is built help veterans as report reveals ‘shameful’ spending on support for troops

A damning new report by the powerful House of Commons defence committee has claimed veterans and their families were still ‘being completely failed’ by the government.

It also took aim at Britain’s armed forces covenant, a vow by employers to support the nation’s veteran community and their families, for not being up to scratch.

The crisis is now so severe the committee said a new treatment centre had to be built ‘in the next 12 to 18 months’ if veterans and their families are to receive the provision and support ‘promised in the covenant’.

MP Ruth Smeeth, who sits on the defence committee and is chairman of the all party parliamentary group looking at the armed forces covenant, lashed out at the government.

She said: ‘We acknowledge the work that the MoD and the UK health departments are doing to improve the mental health care provided to both serving personnel and veterans but it is simply nowhere near enough.

‘Fundamental issues still clearly exist, with scandalously little funding allocated to veteran-specific services, and it is unacceptable that veterans and their families should feel abandoned by the state as a result.

‘It is vital that veterans get the quality of care they need when they need it, no matter where they live, supported by a world-class national centre.

‘Only then will the armed forces communities believe that the promises made in the covenant are not just hollow words.’

Meanwhile, veterans and politicians have been left gobsmacked by the ‘scandalously insignificant’ amount being spent to help former servicemen and women – less than £10m out of the £150bn health budget.

Stephen Morgan, Portsmouth South MP, said he was ‘shocked and saddened’ by the sum, which is only ‘0.0007 per cent of the NHS budget’.

‘These brave men and women put on their uniform to protect us and this nation, we owe it to them to provide support in their time of need,’ he said.

The committee’s report highlighted that improvements had been made by the MoD and NHS to treat veterans over the past decade.

Yet despite the efforts, for some serving personnel and many veterans, the current system ‘still falls far short of what they need and deserve’.

The committee slated the government for the ‘shamefully small fraction’ of the health budget being spent on veteran-specific mental health across the UK.

As a result, they said veterans face wide variations in the quality of treatment available, according to where they live and whether they are fortunate enough to have a GP with awareness of veterans’ mental health needs and services.

Some veterans are having to wait up to a year for treatment, after initial diagnosis.

MPs said they were ‘convinced’ of the need of a new treatment, which should be ‘co-located with the new state-run Defence and National Rehabilitation Centre (DNRC) for physically injured serving personnel at Stanford Hall’.

However, Afghanistan war veteran Gary Weaving, of Waterlooville, said simply building a large facility would not solve the problem

Mr Weaving, who runs forces charity Forgotten Veterans UK, said: ‘The reality is you could build Disney World but unless you have got the support and trust of veterans they won’t go.

‘They’re fed up of these wooden, brand new graduates from university now giving them treatment through the NHS.

‘They want projects closer to home, with their own community, and don’t want to travel halfway across the country to get help.’

The report comes amid calls by campaigners to improve mental health support for service personnel following the suicides of about 100 veterans in the past year.

The News and its parent company JPIMedia are lobbying the government to record the number of veterans who take their lives - a measure which forces charities claim could help them identify key trouble areas and save lives.