Loading
There is no summary of this meeting yet. One is written once the council publishes the minutes. The agenda and papers are below.
None.
The minutes of the Panel held on 23 June 2025 were agreed as a correct record.
Finola Pickwell reported that all AFLO’s were last week invited to London for the launch of the latest report in the Our Community, Our Covenant series. Below is the link to the report for further information: New report highlights the central role of collaboration in delivering the Armed Forces Covenant - Forces in Mind Trust The research has been conducted by RAND Europe, Shared Intelligence and Meri Mayhew Consulting, and was funded by the Forces in Mind Trust. It examines the partnerships that can drive effective delivery of the Armed Forces Covenant. There is also a new Toolkit for local authorities to help them develop support for their local Armed Forces Community. Maintaining the idea of “core infrastructure”, supported by self-assessment questions and some wider tips: 20250616-Toolkit-2025-Digital.pdf VALOUR – Radio silence The Office of Veterans Affairs acknowledged concerns due to the recent radio silence with regard to Valour. Their reasoning for this was due to work being carried out in the background including: • Preparing for recruitment • Preparing the role for the Regional Field Officers • Development funding • Prepare data systems - what options are available digitally – both long & short term. There is likely to be an announcement on development funding soon, to give organisations time to look at eligibility. It was requested that veterans, charities and organisations sign up for Valour updates and to help with future research and surveys, below is a link: Valour updates and research sign-up: for veterans, charities and organisations Funding The Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust awards grants through specific funding programmes, each with its own aim(s), often based on community consultation. Below is a link to the details and information: Programmes - Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust
Lt Cdr Andy Davies outlined that Cdr Mike Dalzell had taken over command of HMS Cambria on 17 September and he planned to attend the Service on 9 November at Swansea Minster and the Parade after. Three members of HMS Cambria are away on HMS Prince of Wales as part of the carrier strike group which is a fantastic opportunity for them and 1 other is involved in other operations in the UK. He indicated that representatives from the Navy will attend as many services and events around Remembrance as possible and referred to the various events and activities they have been involved in since the last meeting. HMS Magpie has been based in Swansea since August and there have been numerous visits. She is due to depart Swansea on operational duty shortly. He indicated that the Sea Cadet numbers continue to rise steadily and the new contact for them is Will Elliott. The Chair indicated that she had visited HMS Magpie and had a tremendous welcome from the crew. He detailed Capt Huw Williams apologies for the meeting as he was attending the funeral of Idwal Davies a WWII Veteran and gave an update on behalf of Huw as follows: The most recent Military Support Meeting had been held earlier today where we looked at events that have taken place, and those that are up and coming, a brief outline is as follows: 29 June 2025: Armed Forces Day in Swansea: A very well attended event that was supported by the majority of Reserve Units and Cadet Forces. The day started with a very well attended service in Christchurch, followed by a parade through the City to the Copr Quarter where the Special Events team constructed a stage for performers to deliver an afternoon of entertainment. A massive thank you to the committee for all their efforts and hard work, and the Swansea Council Special Events Team and the Council for allowing the event to go ahead. A special thank you also to Tesco who again supported this event wholeheartedly. 4-6 Jul 2025: Wales National Airshow: another great weekend in the military calendar. A little damp on the Saturday but Sunday was wonderful, and it was great to see all the flying displays. Over the weekends of Armed Forces Day and the Airshow over £3000 was raised for Blind Veterans UK and Helping Homeless veterans. Once again, Tesco led the way and contributed a further £1000 to the money raised. This was very well received by both charities. 15 Aug 2025: VJ 80 Commemorations: A wonderful tea party which saw eight of our WWII veterans celebrated for their efforts during WWII. This again was supported by Swansea Council and a very big thank you to the Leader of the Council, the Lord Mayor and the Armed Forces Champion for their support in delivering a lovely afternoon at the Guildhall. Forthcoming Events: Remembrance Events: Please note that there is a major field training exercise taking place in the UK across the Remembrance period that involves all units within the Swansea, Neath and Port Talbot areas. The impact of this exercise is that unfortunately reserve personnel attendance on Remembrance parades/services will be reduced to minimum numbers. Remembrance Events 2025: The Royal British Legion will update further on the for Swansea events. Other events of interest include: 1 Nov 2025: Mayor of Neath Port Talbot Festival of Remembrance being held in The Grand Hall, Swansea University Bay Campus, Fabian Way. A star-studded line is expected. 9 Nov 2025: alongside the services in Swansea, there is a parade in Port Talbot that 223 Sqn will support. A service will be held in Christchurch, The Garrison Church at 0915 hrs, allowing time for members of the congregation to then make their way to The Cenotaph for the service there. Two members of 223 Transport Squadron are currently deployed overseas in support of UK operations. The Squadron is preparing to deploy with the Regiment in support of Exercicse IRON TITAN/STORM with our deployment window being 7-22 November 2025. This will see the unit deploy in role as a logistic transport squadron delivering supplies to the deployed force across the UK. On 1 Dec 25 we have the Army Cadet Forces from Morfa, Glamorgan Street and The Grange Detachment coming to the Reserve Centre to experience a series of stands. This is the initial event to which we hope will grow a stronger relationship between the Army Reserve and Army Cadet Force personnel. We look forward to working with Swansea Special Events Team in preparing for next years events that require military support. If you wish the assistance of the Army Reserve, and particularly 223 Transport Squadron, please don’t hesitate to contact Capt Huw Williams or via Gareth Borsden in the Council who can pass on your request.
Victoria Willaims outlined that over the last 3 months they had received 39 referrals with 23 opting in, and 15 assessments carried out to date. There are currently 20 people receiving therapy with another 5 on the waiting list. She indicated that the service is currently looking into becoming part of the Quality Network for Veterans Mental Health, which is run by the Royal College of Psychiatrists. They offer an accreditation for people who are working with veterans. There's only one service in Wales that is accredited with them at the moment and that is Cardiff and Vale. I have spoken to them about us becoming accredited and indicated that it is something that we would be really interested in, but it's quite a large fee you have to pay to join. So we are looking at alternatives to be able to secure the funding to apply for this accreditation. The Royal College of Psychiatrists did give me the Veterans Foundation as they offer grants, but because we're part of the NHS, they won't, as we don't qualify. This could be the case for many grant funding options. She sought help/advice from panel members on the possible options for securing funding going forward as the service meets the criteria. Panel members discussed the matter in the meeting and various people indicated they would contact Victoria with ideas for different funds She also outlined that the Veterans service has its own web page now on the general Swansea Bay website and we've developed our own SharePoint. So we're doing lots behind the scenes to try and get ourselves more visible. The other thing we are also doing is trying to get hold of the cluster leads for GPs to come in and update them on who we are and how they can better access us and improve services for Veterans. She also reminded panel members that she was available to attend groups and organisations to speak to them and outline the offer the service has available for veterans.
No officer present.
V-Aid John Felton outlined that he had only been with the organisation for a few months and he had found it fantastic to work with veterans. He referred to what they were doing and how could they aim to expand this in the future as they continue our veteran visitation work inside HMP Swansea. He outlined that veteran staff and inmates are mentoring others through our novel approach to humanitarian food assistance. Due to the successes we have had trialling people in Swansea, we look now looking to expand this into the Swansea probation workshop in Port Talbot and into the newly refurbished workshop in Parc Prison to support longer term rehabilitation training and to further assist veterans sentence in crisis project. He reported that V-Aid are also sending emergency food, hygiene, and further support information parcels to veterans all across the UK, which are all made through the Veteran Crisis and Emergency Response Programme, and with the support of a growing number of donors. The freeze meals are designed and produced by veterans, and it makes them nutritious, lightweight and have a shelf long life. We now also design culturally sensitive meals, adding bilingual labels. Internationally, we continue to send meals, vehicles, and medical aid into Ukraine through V-Aid volunteers and now provide humanitarian support for the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, using specially designed recipes which are to be distributed to those vulnerable and attend the large feeding centres, and patients in hospitals. We're also increasing help locally for groups which support homeless veterans, the homeless and women's refuges. Better engagement with mentors and training experiences, has allowed us to engage the more vulnerable inmates in our project, for all those we engage and for everyone involved work towards a qualification in food production, provides humanitarian mental health first aid, and gives them a genuine path for employment and a sense of pride, and we hope to expand the provision to prisons across the whole of the UK, eventually. The Chair reported that she had recently visited and seen first-hand the service provided to the prisoners and veterans at HMP Swansea and she highly commended the approach and fantastic work being undertaken. Swansea Veterans Hub Lyn Mogford reported that that Swansea Veterans Hub was officially awarded charity status in September. This milestone is already opening new doors, strengthening our relationships with sponsors, unlocking new partnerships and expanding access to vital funding opportunities. 2025 has been a year of recognition and pride for our team and community. We have been honoured with • Pride of Britain Fund Award winners • Gold Award – Welsh Veterans Awards (Best Veteran Organisation of the Year, 1–5 year category) • CIO Charity Status Achieved These achievements are a testament to the tireless dedication of our trustees and volunteers and we are deeply grateful to the veteran and local communities who nominated and voted for us, your support means everything and whilst the hub warmly welcomes the accolades, it wont distract us from our core mission, “Veterans and their families always come first”. As the end of the year approaches our calendar is still packed with inclusive collaborative, veteran community driven events, including: Halloween Party 31 October – Landore Social Club Escaping Bonfire Night 5 November – Garrison Church Hall Remembrance Service Sunday 9 November, Christchurch Veterans & Families Lunch 23 November – Fairwood Golf Blind Veterans Christmas Party 28 November Bath Christmas Market Carol Concert & Christmas Party 20 December – Garrison Church Hall Full details would be circulated following the meeting by Gareth and panel members are asked to share these widely. Veterans RV Paul Smith indicated that they had secured the use of a hut at Langland to assist swimmers after their cold water swimming exercise. They are exploring funding options to continue this going forward. The RV are also in linked up with UWTSD on a study on cold water emersion which is seeking to explore and record the therapy benefits of this activity. The Model Club continues on a Tuesday night at Morriston Fire Station (6-8) and has welcomed some new members recently. He also outlined that he had recently done an interview with Swansea Bay TV to outline the importance of veterans meeting with others and talking and sharing their experiences. Royal Naval Association Colin Johnson outlined that since forming two and a half years ago they now have over 100 members and meet once a month. All are welcome to join or attend the meetings. UWTSD Kelly Williams outlined that she was attending her first meeting and reported that the university had recently developed a Armed Forces Academy and is working on expanding its offer to serving personnel and veterans, which includes the eclas funding scheme for serving members as well as veterans. She would circulate links to the information following the meeting. The Poppy Factory Andrew Millership reported that the organisation now have their navigator service available in Swansea and Neath Port Talbot. The navigators work with veterans who have various injuries or barriers preventing them returning to work and help them with a face to face programme of support for a period of six months. If people wish to utilise the scheme, please get in touch. The White Ensign Association Natalie Ellis-Burt outlined that she had left her previous position in the council and was now part of the above organisation, full details would be circulated after the meeting. Special Events – Swansea Council David Price Deer outlined that if organisations required road closures for events around Remembrance Day, they should get in touch asap, as the Council has set aside an amount of money to assist with such requests. He outlined the potential liability issues around illegal road closures. He reported that in 2026, Armed Forces Day will again be a separate event, as the one held this summer had proved to be a very successful veteran led occasion. He said that due to the Red Arrows flying schedule, the Air Show is likely to be later in the summer of 2026 than it normally is, this will be confirmed in due course.
Councillors must say when they have a personal link to something being discussed, such as a job, a property or a family member. A prejudicial interest is one strong enough that the councillor usually leaves the room and takes no part.
Declarations are read from the minutes once they are published.
Lists the council's current councillors only. Co-opted members, officers and former councillors aren't shown.