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Peredur Owen Griffiths, who represents Plaid Cymru, is one of four regional Senedd Members serving the South Wales East region.

I recently met with some Welsh soldiers at the Headquarters 160th (Welsh) Brigade in Brecon. We discussed some of the initiatives the army has been involved in recently as well as some of the issues that some of their personnel face.

Much has been made about the difficulty some members of the Armed Forces face upon leaving their service and entering civilian life. At the meeting I had, it was made clear that for some people leaving the forces, they have not known any other work as they joined up straight from school – which makes the transition all the more difficult.

One of the biggest factors that was highlighted to me came from Colonel Siôn Walker, who spoke of the difficulty that ex-Armed Forces members face accessing health services. This is partly down to the rules which prevent anyone from registering with more than one GP. This is not the case in England where people in the Armed Forces can be registered with a GP where they are based and also be registered at a GP at home for when they are on leave. This system is much better for continuity of care, especially for those with ongoing mental health or rehabilitation needs.

My office has links with an Armed Forces champion and they made it clear that this is a significant disadvantage for the Armed Forces community in Wales. They told of a young soldier leaving the army after medical discharge that didn’t register with a GP for over a year, as he didn’t realise he had to switch, and was too embarrassed to ask for help. This led to worsening anxiety and alcohol misuse for this young vulnerable person.

As a result of these discussions, I raised the matter in the Senedd and called on the government TO respond to this GP situation. Hopefully we will see a change in the rules as soon as possible to prevent more suffering for our active armed service personal and veterans.

There are many current and former Armed Forces personnel in our local area and this one thing could make a big difference to their physical and mental health.

It was also great to see the unveiling of Plaid Cymru’s policy to deliver a universal school swimming offer.

If we are successful at the next Senedd election in May 2026, we have pledged to ensure 20 lessons of swimming and water safety per pupil across Years 4 and 5 (with flexibility to provide this across Years 3 to 6 if preferred and according to school).

This is in response to the alarming statistic that only 35% of children in Wales can swim, which means that drowning is the leading cause of accidental death.

This policy is a key component of our preventative agenda on improving physical and mental wellbeing. Above all, teaching our young people to swim and be safe in and around water is a necessity, not a nice to have.