Councillor to be appointed as Armed Forces Champion (From Kidderminster Shuttle)

Councillor to be appointed as Armed Forces Champion

7:20am Monday 4th March 2013 in Local

WYRE Forest District Council has agreed to appoint an Armed Forces Champion to work on behalf of servicemen and women who might find adjusting to civilian life difficult.

Labour leader Jamie Shaw brought the motion before full council at a meeting on Wednesday last week.

Council members unanimously agreed to appoint a councillor to the position to provide support and help for Wyre Forest serving or retired servicemen and women.

Mr Shaw said: “Since the end of the Second World War, there has only been one year in which British Armed Forces haven’t been engaged in some form of conflict somewhere in the world.

“They [servicemen and women] have difficulty in re-adjusting to the world outside the armed forces.”

Mr Shaw said an Armed Forces Champion could help sevicemen and women to have access to services and avoid becoming homeless or unemployed.

Labour councillor Nigel Knowles seconded the motion. He said that the champion could work with employment services, education providers, the NHS and armed forces charities.

Mr Shaw spoke of the Borough of Wyre, in Lancashire, which has taken a lead in appointing a champion.

Council members voted to pass the motion after Council Leader John Campion spoke in support and said the model “seems an excellent one.”