MILITARY COVENENT , WILL IT BENEFIT CARERS??

[g.herschel]

Long beofre i began to care for STAN -1997- i was involved with many forces charities re the covenent , since 1990 we have asked for the covenent to be on the statute book ..
i know it is only speculation but , will CAMERONS pledge to have the covenent rewritten and enshrined in law be of benefit , not just to the veteran but for their families including those who care for them ... you bet it will or else ...when they talk of veterans & their familes it is not young serviceman/woman with children of school age only , it is also for the thousands of veterans now in their late 80`s many of them now in need of full time care provided by family members , and when we talk of a veteran do you know what that means ,,,, a veteran is someone who has served within H.M. forces or a widow/widower of a serviceman/woman , you do not have to be in receipt of a war disabled pension or even a forces pension , all who served are veterans ,,, simple as that...
it was ackonledge some time ago that family members of veterans who now care for them should be supported .
every single Prime minister or M.O.D. minister has used the sound bite ... no veteran past or present or family member of a veteran shall be disadvantaged or suffer finacial hardship because of the veterans service within H.M. forces .
What it could mean for me .. probably to late to be honest as this will take years to become law ..
as a carer for a veteran i receive the carers allowance of £55 per week , but as i have my own private occupational pension i can not access any other benefit help at all , the covenent may disregard the private pensions of those who care for veterans , i would then receive housing benefit / council tax relief ..

local authorities.. to disregard all war realted pensions this will allow war disabled / war forces pensions and war widows to receive housing benfit and council tax relief ...at the moment the local authories by "law" disregard the first £20 only....most do disregard the whole amount but they could change the rules overnight ..

respite care, disabled veterans are entitled to 4 weeks free respite each year from the veterans agency .. i have had this respite request turned down many times in the past as the rules say if the veteran can" holiday " in a normal hotel no respite care ( even as i write i have been contacted by the veterans agency re the old dolls 2 week break this August it has gone before the panel and may be turned down as she had a holiday with me in 2008 ) .. the covenent will guarantee respite care for the carers of veterans to have a break...

war widows , if a woman has full N.I. contributions and has a full state pension entitlement , if she becomes a war widow her OWN STATE PENSION is reduced ( the old doll should have a full state pension instead of £30 per week) .. under the covenent the war widows may be able to keep her own state pension and still receive the war widows allowance ...

carers allowance .. all of the forces charities have asked time after time for an increase in the carers allowance for those who care for a family member who is a veteran .. doubt if that will become law ..but it could be ...

carers of veterans .. we have asked for all carers of veterans to be entitled to free bus pass/prescriptions / dental / eye care .... this may also be kicked into touch .. but who knows if we dont ask we dont get

28 day rule ---again we have asked for cares of veterans to retain the carers allowance if the veteran is hospitalised for more then 28 days , and the veteran retains all of his her benefits during this same period ...

veterans who enter or may need residential social care or care at home ..the forces charities have asked over many years for the savings limit to be removed from veterans , and if a veteran enters social care no claim can be made agains the veterans home ( if they own one) and if they do enter residential social care the veteran should keep all of his / her war related pensions ,,

the list is endless .. social housing... last time i looked some 40-000 veterans need a council house ,, over 20-000 children of veterans failed to get into the school of their choice , veterans children to be exempt from tutition fees ,,in London alone it is thought some 1200 veterans sleep rough , in our prisons - not sure of the exact amount but it could be as high as 5% of the inmates are veterans , many homeless when released ... N.H.S priority treatment ..we have it now but only if you ask ,, help with deposits for those who would like to buy a home ..free travel for all veterans , and even veterans without pensions will be entitled to council tax discounts ..
now who can pay for all of this ? well it is you the tax payer ..good job the economy is on the up..
some time ago the covenent was costed -- if the government agreed to all requests .. in the first year 4 billion quid , then it would be about 1 billion quid ...

[g.herschel]

as you can se i am bored again ,,just waiting for the hoops to win and the bad guys to lose ..

[Guest]

My straw poll of three: one war veteran, one daughter and wife of a war veteran and one daughter, wife and sister of a war veteran whose brother was shot down over Germany, missing presumed dead, became a POW and, after his release at the end of the WWII, did not live to become a War Pensioner or to see his children grow into adulthood, came up with the universal opinion that simply being a war veteran or the family member of a war veteran should not entitle one to special treatment, keep the special treatment for those who really need it.

[g.herschel]

oh dear me , why oh why do we bother ,, please produce a list of those who you believe deserve help and support ...is it jealosy or envy ...whatever it is i presume you just dont like me ...

My mother is suffering now from injuries received during 1943, and you know what upsets her the most, the though that she may have taken someone else`s life fighting for King and country ..if you ask any of the A.T.S. girls who were on the heavy ack ack anti aircraft did you shoot any planes down ? every single one of them will say NO well i hope we didn`t ..

before STAN was taken P.O.W. June 1940 he took part in some horriffic acts as he tried -in vain , to defend the retreat to Dunkirk , he found it very difficult to come to terms with what he did during the 2 weeks fighting hand to hand , even when his alzheimers was at it`s highest he could remember taking the lives of many young German soldiers, he was just 20 years old when taken P.O.W. and because of his actions was placed in firing squad in Lille stopped at the last minute by German field marshall ( Keitels son ?) next 5 years slave labourer in Poland arrived home after nearly 6 years - he sadly went to his grave ashamed of what he did , he would often tell me to take someones life is the worst thing any human can do , Governments have a responsability to care for , not just veterans, but also those who care for them , goverments even today just want our servicemen/woman to fight their crazy wars , and when it is all over just dump them , they should try and live with veterans who have both physical and mental health problems ,STAN was one of the first veterans to be given recognition for his P.T.S.D. and increased his pension..
do you support the compensation/pensions now offered to our disabled troops returning from Afghanistan .. do they really need it ...they are no differen then veterans from WW2 except those disabled during WW2 or their widows did not receive large compensation payments just a war disabled pension .. many did not even get their pensions till they were elderly , STAN fought for his pension from 1951 awarded his full pension in 1990 ....

becasue veterans return , in our case France / Blegium they do not "glory " in war they go to remember and to come to terms with what they did , STAN never did really come to terms with what happened during WW2 , but for him to lay wreaths at both U.K. war graves and German war graves did help him in a samll way , one thing that did help him was when he was honoured by the French he felt wanted .. unlike now ..

[Guest]

Why jealousy or envy, George, if I and my family could benefit from it?

Those who fought in wars will have horrific memories, my late father among them, war damages people and not only physically, we are not the sort of family who think that fulfilling one's duty when required to should result in privileges not extended to the rest of society when there are people who are in greater need. Look after all those in greatest need first and that will, of course, include some members of the armed forces who have historically been let down by the State but not all ex-armed forces and their families need extra help so why prioritise them in accessing services when they do not need it.

[g.herschel]

sorry but you are wrong ex servicemen/woman need help and support when discharged , this covenant will help many, who as i have said are not disabled or have a forces pension incl war widows ... they do their duty and thats it-- bye bye you are on your own now mate ,,, look at the homeless , the prisons many of them ex servicemen, mainly men some woman , drug abuse , alcoholics many again ex servicemen ..it takes 12 weeks to train the average squadie, one day to say good bye ...if you and your family will benefit from it you should welcome it.many who do not need the extra help need not ask for it , but i know many who do need help and support..and it will benefit them ... or are we once again going down the route of means testing ... no means testing for help and suppoprt for veterans ....

[Guest]

sorry but you are wrong ex servicemen/woman need help and support when discharged , this covenant will help many, who as i have said are not disabled or have a forces pension incl war widows ... they do their duty and thats it-- bye bye you are on your own now mate ,,, look at the homeless , the prisons many of them ex servicemen, mainly men some woman , drug abuse , alcoholics many again ex servicemen ..it takes 12 weeks to train the average squadie, one day to say good bye

No problem with that, George, but I do have a problem, and so do the older generation of my close family who were directly effected by WWII and, in fact, WWI, for example, my paternal grandfather was gassed, with this] ...if you and your family will benefit from it you should welcome it.many who do not need the extra help need not ask for it , but i know many who do need help and support..and it will benefit them ... or are we once again going down the route of means testing ... no means testing for help and suppoprt for veterans ....[/quote]

If we have something free for which we can afford to pay we are taking it from someone who cannot afford to pay, the country does not have infinite resources to spend on everyone in need, means-testing is the only way to ensure that those who cannot pay get equal access to services, etc.

[Brindleboy123]

As you will know (possibly!) Tony is ex military, having served 22 years in the Household Cavalry. I was not married to him at the time and he chooses not to talk too much about it. We have however discussed the various "suggestions" that seem to appear in the press regarding what the country should be providing for returning soldiers etc etc I would certainly not ever take for granted what these men and women do and I hold my hand up that I personally would not have had the courage to go into the situations that many find themselves. Tony, the "soldier" on the other hand takes the view that they "take the queen's shilling" etc etc. He also reminds me that more soldiers were killed and injured during the Northern Ireland "troubles" than in Afghanistan/Iraq.

No-one is suggesting for one minute that those who return injured should not receive the best care available, but that should surely be the same for every person, whether they are soldiers, teachers, cleaners or "carers". I worked for many years managing waiting lists in the NHS, and yes there were times when I was required to give ex-servicement priority on waiting lists (if their condition was a result of an injury suffered through service). I admit to thinking that this was wrong! Why when there were others on waiting lists for much longer and also in pain, should someone who received an injury some 60 years previous, receive priority? The Royal College of Surgeons always agreed that patients should be treated "according to medical need" and I see no reason why this should be changed simply because of the job that they have.

Bell

[susieq]

I will admit that when I first heard/read about the Military Covenant I thought "good" we should be doing more for the people who serve our country on the front line.

But, Annie and Bell, you've put the other side that I hadn't considered and it's made me re-consider. I think, on balance, that it would not be right to give the men and women of our armed forces priority over anyone else just because they are/were part of the military. That would only make them elitist and could surely cause bad feeling among other 'deserving' groups. Each case should be considered on it's merits - whether it is concerned with medical treatment, housing or pensions.

Who is more deserving - the serviceman who has lost a limb in a conflict or a young person who has lost a limb in an accident ? Surely they both deserve the best medical treatment available ?

Who is more deserving - a member of the armed services disabled in action or a child disabled since birth by a genetic condition ? Surely they are both deserve the best life and care available ?

Who is more deserving - the Carer of an ex-armed forces veteran or the Carer of an elderly Alzheimer's patient ? Surely they both need respite time and an adequate income ?

Yes, our servicemen and women deserve better but not at the expense of others - no one group should be set above another - that way only leads to divisions within our society.

[charles47]

Adjusting to civilian life after military service can be a nightmare for ex-servicemen and women (and their families), and the help available is limited at best. Worse, obviously, if they are injured. They deserve better, and to enshrine what that means in law is overdue.

But it should be no more a "blank cheque" for them than for any other group that deserves support.