35,000 extra forces personnel, including 500 from Wales, to receive travel cover this Christmas to reunite with their loved ones.
Thousands of return journeys home to be covered by Labour Government to support service personnel over the festive period.
Tens of thousands more Armed Forces personnel will be able to claim for a return journey to be reunited with their friends and family this festive season, underlining Labour’s commitment to renew the nation’s contract with those who serve.
Around 30,000 junior personnel in years 2-5 of their military careers – a group particularly affected by postings far from home early in their service – will receive a funded return journey to see their loved ones this Christmas.
A further 5,000 separated parents with non-resident children will also receive travel credit, helping them reunite with their children over Christmas.
While many in the Armed Forces already qualify for travel cost support, around 35,000 service personnel don’t currently qualify for this support, and the UK Labour Government is changing that this festive season.
Support with either road or rail travel will be available at Christmas or over the coming months, ensuring those on duty over the festive season can still access support when they need it.
This comes in addition to other recent announcements confirming 801 military homes in Wales to be renewed under Labour’s £9bn Military Housing Strategy, with 779 brought back into public ownership, and 1,930 Welsh forces personnel benefitting from the biggest pay uplift in two decades.
Dame Nia Griffith, Member of Parliament for Llanelli, said:
“We promised to renew the nation’s contract with those who serve – and we are delivering on that promise.
“Our armed forces make huge sacrifices to serve our country and to keep us safe and secure. I’m proud that this government are supporting them to get home to their loved ones this Christmas.”
Defence Secretary John Healey MP said:
“Our Armed Forces make extraordinary sacrifices to keep our country safe. Helping them get home to their families for Christmas is the least we can do to support them.
“In this new era of threat, the strength of our defence lies in the serving men and women of our forces. Having already awarded the biggest military pay rise in 20 years and launched a big new strategy to renew military housing, this Government is proudly putting our Forces First.”