RBL clarify statement

Dear H4H Supporter, Some of you may have seen leaflets that were distributed by The Royal British Legion in publications including the Telegraph, the Mail on Sunday and BBC Homes and Antiques this week. You might also have received a fundraising pack from The Royal British Legion through the post. Unfortunately, this literature was somewhat misleading in its description of the role that Help for Heroes is playing in the delivery of the Defence Recovery Capability – a partnership between the MOD, Help for Heroes and The Royal British Legion. The Director General of The Royal British Legion was unable to prevent this literature being issued and wishes to issue the following statement. We want to reassure our supporters of the on-going strength of this partnership and our commitment to providing the very best support for our wounded, injured and sick Service personnel.   A STATEMENT FROM THE DIRECTOR GENERAL OF THE ROYAL BRITISH LEGION ON RECENT FUNDRAISING LITERATURE The Royal British Legion wishes to correct recent fundraising literature that it has published. The literature referred to the Personnel Recovery Centres being operated as part of a wider Defence Recovery Capability but regretably did not refer to the principal role being played by Help for Heroes and referenced the MoD contribution only in respect of the Battle Back programme of adaptive sport and adventurous training. This was an unfortunate oversight caused by failures in the editorial controls process and we apologise for any misunderstandings caused. The Defence Recovery Capability is an MoD-led initiative delivered in partnership with Help for Heroes and The Royal British Legion, alongside other service charities and agencies, to ensure that wounded, injured and sick armed forces personnel have access to the key services and resources needed to help them either return to duty or make a smooth transition into an appropriately skilled civilian life. Battle Back is an MoD initiative delivered in partnership with Help for Heroes and The Royal British Legion. The Royal British Legion is pleased to set the record straight and to ensure our readers that our partnership with the MoD and Help for Heroes will continue to deliver the very best support to those who become wounded, injured or long term sick while in Service to the nation. Chris Simpkins Director General The Royal British Legion Defence Recovery Capability Help for Heroes is proud to be a principal partner of the MOD and The Royal British Legion in the delivery of the Defence Recovery Capability, alongside other service charities and agencies, ensuring that wounded, injured and sick personnel have access to the key services and resources needed to help the either return to duty or make a smooth transition into an appropriately skilled civilian life. Personnel Recovery Centres are a principal component of the Defence Recovery Capability, and offer residential facilities to those wounded, injured and sick personnel from across the Armed Forces undergoing recovery as well as providing facilities for day attendees. The Army, working with Help for Heroes and The Royal British Legion are establishing Centres in or near to major garrison towns in the UK, at Edinburgh, Catterick, Colchester, Tidworth and in Germany at Sennelager, in order to take advantage of the full range of existing welfare, medical, rehabilitation, education and resettlement facilities at the garrisons. Supported by H4H, the Royal Navy are enhancing the Naval Service Recovery Pathway (NSRP) at HMS DRAKE, Plymouth to ensure those personnel have access to multi-disciplinary assessment and treatment resources ensuring individuals achieve their maximum recovery potential. Help for Heroes have committed to fund the £60m capital build projects at Catterick, Colchester, Tidworth and Plymouth, and have made a further commitment to fund the operating costs for the next 20 years at an estimated cost of £93m. The Royal British Legion are meeting £17m of this cost by way of an annual grant of £1.7m made to Help for Heroes for the next 10 years. Another principal component of the Defence Recovery Capability is Battle Back, an Adaptive Sport and Adventurous Training programme for wounded, injured and sick personnel from across the Armed Forces, including mobilised reservists. It is an MOD-led programme which is delivered, funded and organised in partnership with Help for Heroes, The Royal British Legion and other Service charities. Battle Back is also available to Veterans but funded separately by Help for Heroes. Battle Back programmes and activities can be delivered from the Personnel Recovery Centres at Tidworth, Catterick and Colchester, as well as from the Battle Back Centre Lilleshall and at specialist centres both in the UK and abroad. Help for Heroes is acknowledged as the Founding Partner of Battle Back, and has been involved in funding Battle Back activities since the inception of the programme in 2008. To date Help for Heroes has spent over £1.3m in support of the Battle Back initiative and over 1500 WIS Personnel have participated in H4H-funded grass-roots elective activities, whilst around 80 individuals have been supported at elite level across all summer and winter Paralympic sports. Over the next ten years Help for Heroes has planned a further commitment of £5m to Battle Back. This will fund activities at the PRCs, overseas expeditions, and elite sporting events such as Warrior Games.