Debate contribution: Supporting Service Leavers, Veterans and their Families

Debate contribution by Ms Paula Bradshaw on 4 November 2025.

MLA

Ms Paula Bradshaw

Party at the time

Alliance Party

Date

4 November 2025

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Supporting Service Leavers, Veterans and their Families

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5216959

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I am pleased to speak in support of the motion. I thank the motion's sponsors for allowing me to put my name to it in the Order Paper. It is important that we try, as far as possible in this place, to not view this being as a green versus orange issue. I appreciate that there are many in our society who view the armed forces exclusively through the British state lens and that hurt remains as a result of some incidents that happened during the Troubles. I am very much aware of that. However, the motion focuses on the present. It rightly recognises the immense contribution of our serving personnel, service leavers, veterans and their families, and, crucially, it calls for practical action in adhering to the armed forces covenant to ensure that no one faces disadvantage in accessing public services. It is understandable that, here in Northern Ireland, we associate the armed forces with conflict. However, I recognise that their work extends far beyond the battlefield. Around the world, servicemen and servicewomen are on the front line in securing and maintaining peace, delivering humanitarian aid, supporting post-conflict societies and rebuilding the very foundations of civic governance. For example, when we think of the devastation that has recently been visited upon the island of Jamaica, not many of us will be cognisant of the fact that HMS Trent is standing by ready to deliver humanitarian assistance and help with recovery efforts on the island. The transition to civilian life is not always straightforward, something to which veterans' associations can attest. For some, it means leaving behind a job and, in some ways, an identity, a sense of belonging and a shared purpose. There is also the impact that spending years on active service will have had on many people's health — I am thinking of mental and physical injuries — and on their ability to secure housing and, in turn, stability. For example, many veterans will have been on active duty overseas when their peers were getting on the property ladder and buying houses, . Furthermore, there are servicemen and servicewomen who have dedicated time and effort to getting trained in specialised roles in the armed forces but found that those qualifications and skills are not fully transferable to other trades and sectors. That is precisely why the armed forces covenant matters. It is a commitment to equality. The recent legal duty that was placed on our public bodies to uphold the covenant is a welcome step, but, as always, the key is delivery. Every Department, from Economy to Health, must now actively demonstrate how it is meeting that duty. While I appreciate that every Department is facing significant budgetary constraints, I sympathise with the idea of a dedicated departmental armed forces liaison officer to ensure that the needs of veterans and their families are understood and acted upon. This is not about hierarchy; it is about equality, respect and opportunity, and it is about ensuring that those who have served globally are supported when they return home. I did not think that it would be appropriate to try to amend the motion, knowing the work that the Veterans Commissioner and others have engaged in for many weeks and months in order to agree its wording. However, we, as an Assembly, should consider writing to the Secretary of State regarding section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act. I would like to see the Secretary of State reviewing the list of protected characteristics under section 75 to assess whether it would be appropriate or necessary to include ex-service personnel. I have said publicly at the Executive Office Committee several times that that review could also look at greater protections for minority language speakers, the Travelling community and looked-after children. Those are just some examples. There are possibly other sections of society that need extra protection to ensure that they are not being disadvantaged and discriminated against. As an Alliance representative, I see providing protection for veterans against discrimination as being an integral part of building a shared and inclusive society that respects different experiences and builds bridges not barriers. I support the motion, not only to honour servicemen and servicewomen but to help us in the Assembly to live up to our highest values of fairness, inclusion and equality for all. Let us ensure that our commitment to the covenant is not just written in law but lived out in practice through real support and opportunity for all those who have served.

752 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 13:45 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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