Northern Ireland Veterans Commissioner

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Tuesday 15th October 2024 Westminster Hall

[Robin Swann (South Antrim) (UUP)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered the role of the Northern Ireland Veterans Commissioner.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Dowd, in this Westminster Hall debate—the first that I am sponsoring. I want to take this time to cover a number of points, the first being how these things came about and the need for them, the second being the current situation and why I have secured this debate, and the third being recommendations to the Minister as to how the office should be delivered to benefit our veteran community in Northern Ireland.

The New Decade, New Approach document, co- authored by the British and Irish Governments in January 2020, saw the restoration of the Northern Ireland Assembly after a three-year period in which it had failed to meet or establish an Executive. Under annexe A, which covered the UK Government’s commitments to Northern Ireland, there was a section entitled “Our commitments to veterans”, which contained four points. The first was:

“Introduce UK-wide legislation to further incorporate the Armed Forces Covenant into law and support full implementation of the Armed Forces Covenant.”

The second was:

“Appoint a Northern Ireland Veterans' Commissioner to act as an independent point of contact to support and enhance outcomes for veterans in Northern Ireland.”

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I commend the hon. Gentleman on his first Westminster Hall debate. It is clear that we have much to thank Danny Kinahan for; he is a man of integrity and a veteran himself, and his footsteps will be difficult to follow. One of the overarching themes from discussions with veterans as individuals and in groups has been the vital need for a replacement and that the replacement is themselves a victim. We do not desire a civil servant with experience of holding a pen, when only those who have experienced holding a weapon and wearing a uniform can know how we feel and what we need. Does the hon. Gentleman agree that that must be the case?

[Robin Swann]

To clarify, the hon. Gentleman means a veteran—that is the point that has been made very vocally by the veterans community.

The third point in the annexe was:

“Initiate a review of the Aftercare Service in Northern Ireland (ACS) which will consider whether the remit of the ACS should be widened to cover all HM Forces veterans living in Northern Ireland with service-related injuries and conditions.”

The fourth was:

“Ensure that the work of the War Memorials Trust who protect and conserve war memorials across the UK is better promoted and understood in Northern Ireland.”

In August 2020, the then Secretary of State, Brandon Lewis, announced that the former Ulster Unionist MP Danny Kinahan had been appointed as Northern Ireland’s first Veterans Commissioner. In the spirit of transparency, it should be noted that Mr Kinahan was my party’s previous MP in the seat that I now represent. His appointment was welcomed across the board. The then leader of the DUP, now Baroness Foster, said his appointment was a

“positive and long overdue step toward ensuring the needs of Northern Ireland’s large and vibrant demographic of armed forces veterans are practically understood and addressed”.

She added that

“he brings a wealth of experience to the role and I know he will be keen to embrace the huge in-tray that awaits”.