Govt invests £75m into military charities

Military charities are set to benefit from the 2015 budget, it has been revealed.

Organisations such as the Burma Star Association and the Armed Forces Covenant, are set to receive a further £75 million in grants taken from fines levied against banks for manipulation of Libor. 

This funding has come about as a result of changes made by chancellor George Osborne who transformed the way those levies were used after the outcry over the manipulation of interest rates.

Of that money, £25 million will be provided to help older veterans, including nuclear test veterans, while £10 million will be given to the charities of every regiment that served in the Afghanistan war.

For example, the Burma Star Association will receive £250,000 to help support veterans from the Burma campaign.

Over 100 or so charities and organisations linked to the military will also receive a share of the funding.

These include Help for Heroes, Combat Stress, National Memorial Arboretum and Big White Wall, among others.

Speaking about his decision to use Libor funds to help military charities, Mr Osborne, said: "In each Budget we have used the Libor fines paid by those who demonstrated the very worst values to support those who represent the very best of British values today I can announce a further £75 million of help.

"Last week’s service of commemoration reminded us all of the debt we owe to those brave British servicemen and women who served in Afghanistan. We will provide funds to the regimental charities of every regiment that fought in that conflict; and we will contribute funding to the permanent memorial to those who died there and in Iraq."

The government will also use the funds to raise awareness about the important role played by the military and to fund educational projects.

In addition to the military charities, £10 million of the money was pledged for new helicopters for the Essex & Herts, East Anglian, Welsh and Scottish air ambulance services.

Mr Osborne added: "In the 75th anniversary year of the Battle of Britain we will help to renovate the RAF museum at Hendon, the Stow Maries Airfield and the Biggin Hill Chapel Memorial so future generations are reminded of the sacrifice of our airmen in all conflicts."

As part of the initiative, £1 million will be given to three charities which support the work of the Intelligence Agencies, while £185,000 will be granted to extend the funding of Skill Force for a further year to provide a link between ex-service personnel and disadvantaged school children.

Furthermore, an extra £5 million will be given as part of five-year installments to Project ADVANCE Plus, which funds research into the psychological impact of battlefield injuries and severe battlefield trauma.

The announcement of the money comes at a time when new figures have highlighted an increase in post-traumatic stress among military veterans.

Figures published by the charity Combat Stress revealed that there has been a 26 per cent rise in military personnel seeking for help with PTSD and other mental health problems after the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

The charity treats around six veterans per day and the increase is more than double the rise seen the year before.

Speaking about the findings, Walter Busuttil, director of medical services, at the charity, said: “We are very concerned at the significant rise in those coming forward with military PTSD.

“It is the biggest increase we have seen in recent years and we expect it to continue, so we want to build up our clinical services accordingly.”
Around  2,264 former soldiers, sailors and airmen sought help in the past 12 months.