26/03/2015

Army Veterans To Benefit From £25m Healthcare Fund

The Government has confirmed that army veterans based in Northern Ireland will benefit from the £25 million healthcare fund for aged veterans announced in the Budget.

Ulster Unionist Peer Lord Empey has welcomed the decision.

He said: "Following the Chancellor’s Budget announcement I asked the Government whether army veterans based in Northern Ireland would benefit from millions of pounds to be raised from LIBOR funding.

"I was very encouraged by the response from Lord Astor of Hever, who responded on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

"Lord Astor stated that 'the UK's ex-Service community is largely elderly; almost half are over age 75 and 64% are over age 65'. I fully agree with him that it is important that this country meets their needs, just as they answered the needs of their country and I welcome the news that to support this community, £5 million of LIBOR funding has been made available every year for the next five years for any UK veterans who are surviving World War Two veterans, those who undertook National Service and other voluntary enlisted veterans who, by virtue of their age, may need some focused support in relation to their health and social care needs.

"I shall therefore be seeking further details as to how this scheme will operate and the Ulster Unionist Party will be encouraging local charities to avail of it and ensure that Northern Ireland based veterans benefit from it."

(CD)

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