Party to call on the government to spend money on offering post-service support to soldiers through charities
Labour is to call on the government to set up a £1m fund to monitor the mental health of veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts and allow charities to bid for the money.
The move follows concern expressed by armed forces charities about the timelag between service personnel leaving the services and experiencing mental health problems and that current support is focused on people still in service. Labour says it does not want those who have served to be "forgotten" after 2014.
The fund would come out of part of the savings obtained by cutting the number of senior ranks in the armed forces. There are more admirals than ships in the navy and proportionately more officers in the UK military than in other countries. The number of army brigadiers, and commodores in the navy and RAF has risen by a third since 1990.
The Guardian reported earlier this month that 20 posts of the ranks of brigadiers and commodores are to be abolished. Labour says more should go.
Jim Murphy, shadow defence secretary, said : "We must prevent an epidemic of invisible injury. The country owes it to all those who have served to provide real post-service support. With thousands having experience of Iraq and Afghanistan legacy issues are more important than ever."
He added: "Imbalances in our forces by making real savings at the top. This is a real priority for Labour."
Labour's defence spokesmen referred to comments by the organisation Combat Stress which says a significant minority of servicemen and women suffer from mental ill health as a result of their experiences.
Research suggests that of the 191,000 personnel who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan, about 7,600 people (4%) could develop post-traumatic stress disorder. Another 37,600 people (19.7%) may be battling other debilitating mental health problems, such as depression, mood disorders and anxiety.
On average veterans wait 13.1 years between leaving the armed forces and seeking help from Combat Stress, showing the delay between a traumatic event taking place and the impact on mental health.
According to the Royal British Legion, the armed forces are facing a "perfect storm" of health and welfare needs in coming years as the legacy of Afghanistan and Iraq combine with defence cuts and strains on public sector support.
By 2020, Legion research estimates that 1.8m in the armed forces community will be living with long-standing illness; 800,000 will be isolated socially, having little contact with family or friends; and 700,000 will be living below the poverty line.