Ben Bradley, MP for Mansfield sponsored an event at the House of Commons for the charity Care After Combat.

It supports veterans with alcohol and substance misuse problems, and works to reduce the numbers of re-offending veterans in the criminal justice system.

During the event in Parliament the charity highlighted that it is only currently able to reach one in 10 prisoner veterans. It is campaigning for increased funding to roll out its services across the UK and to support all eligible veterans currently serving sentences.

It is estimated that there are currently 3,500 former servicemen incarcerated in England and Wales.
According to Care After Combat, this represents the largest single occupational cohort within prisons – and one of the most vulnerable groups.

Co-founded by Jim Davidson OBE in 2015, Care After Combat mentors incarcerated veterans serving the final eighteen months of their sentence to help them make the successful transition from prison life, back into the civilian population.

Over the past three years it has expanded its scope to provide services for over 300 incarcerated veterans in almost 30 prisons, helping to reduce first year reoffending rates amongst service users to only 8 percent. This is compared to the 45 percent first year reoffending rate amongst the wider prisoner population.

Ben said: “I was delighted to host Care After Combat in Parliament. The Armed Forces Covenant is an agreement between our country and those who put their lives on the line to defend it, and we have a responsibility to look after the welfare of all our veterans, especially as they leave the Armed Forces.

“It can be a massive and often daunting challenge to transition to civilian life. Care After Combat provides dedicated support for those least able to make this transition and who often fall into the prison system as a result.

“We must do everything we can to end this vicious cycle and I am pleased to pledge my support for the work of the charity.”