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Written Question
Veterans
Monday 4th July 2022

Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - Wolverhampton South West)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps the Government is taking to support veterans with welfare needs including (a) housing, (b) health and (c) education.

Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)

The Veterans' Strategy Action Plan sets out over 60 UK Government commitments with a combined value of over £70m to help support veterans and their families between 2022-2024. We are already making good progress with 24% of commitments already completed at the 6 month point.

We have changed the law to improve access to social housing, removing the local connection test, and awarding priority access to social housing for vulnerable veterans. We are improving the Enhanced Learning Credit Scheme, making sure veterans have access to the right training opportunities; and in reletting the Career Transition Partnership contract, we are taking the opportunity to improve and enhance the service. Over the next three years NHS England will be providing £18m more to improve access to Op COURAGE and the Veterans Trauma Network. Additionally, this year, we will administer the new £5m Veterans' Health Innovation Fund - supporting projects developing innovative treatments and initiatives to support veterans' health.


Written Question
Veterans
Monday 4th July 2022

Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - Wolverhampton South West)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to help support the (a) education, (b) housing and (c) health needs of veterans.

Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)

The Veterans' Strategy Action Plan sets out over 60 UK Government commitments with a combined value of over £70m to help support veterans and their families between 2022-2024. We are already making good progress with 24% of commitments already completed at the 6 month point.

We have changed the law to improve access to social housing, removing the local connection test, and awarding priority access to social housing for vulnerable veterans. We are improving the Enhanced Learning Credit Scheme, making sure veterans have access to the right training opportunities; and in reletting the Career Transition Partnership contract, we are taking the opportunity to improve and enhance the service. Over the next three years NHS England will be providing £18m more to improve access to Op COURAGE and the Veterans Trauma Network. Additionally, this year, we will administer the new £5m Veterans' Health Innovation Fund - supporting projects developing innovative treatments and initiatives to support veterans' health.


Written Question
Employment
Thursday 23rd June 2022

Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - Wolverhampton South West)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Prime Minister, what recent assessment he has made of trends in the level of employment in (a) the West Midlands and (b) the UK since 19 December 2019.

Answered by Boris Johnson

The latest official statistics show the current (February-April 2022) employment level for West Midlands at 2.9 million – compared to 2.8 million in October-December 2019.

I trust that the following provides a comprehensive assessment and clarifies my previous answers about employment levels in the UK.

Further to my letter of 26 April 2022 to the Liaison Committee (a copy of which was placed in the Libraries of the House) and the Committee’s letter of 20 May 2022 (a copy of which is available on its website) concerning my previous answers to the House on this issue (Official Report contributions referenced in the letter of 20 May 2022; and also Official Report 1 December, column 911; 15 December, column 1052; and, 20 April, column 155).

The latest labour market statistics show that the total UK employment level is currently at 32.7 million, compared to 32.9 million in October-December 2019.

They also show that payroll employment, as a measure of people in work, is again at a record high. It is now around 627,000 higher than before the pandemic. At the same time we have seen significant improvements in national unemployment rates, which are currently at 3.8% and lower than pre-pandemic levels. It is important that everyone has the opportunity and support to find a good job to help them get on in life. That is why we are delivering on our Plan for Jobs – increasing the number of work coaches, seeing over 162,600 Kickstart jobs started by young people, and offering free skills bootcamps. And we have launched Way to Work - a campaign that will focus on getting job-ready claimants into work and support employers to fill vacancies. Together we will boost this country’s jobs-led recovery.


Written Question
Armed Forces Day
Friday 10th June 2022

Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - Wolverhampton South West)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Prime Minister, what steps he is taking to mark Armed Forces Day.

Answered by Boris Johnson

I am immensely proud of our armed forces, and I thank them and their families for their service to our country. Armed Forces Day is a fantastic opportunity for the nation to show our appreciation of all those who serve and have served. Almost 300 events are registered on the Armed Forces Day website and the National Event will be taking place in Scarborough on Saturday 25 June. The Ministry of Defence is providing general grants, people, equipment, flypasts, and air displays all by way of support. The Armed Forces Day flag will also be flying aloft 10 Downing Street.


Written Question
Parliament: Publicity
Wednesday 8th June 2022

Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - Wolverhampton South West)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to promote UK Parliament Week 2022.

Answered by Heather Wheeler

The Cabinet Office has been an official partner of UK Parliament Week since 2018. Each year, a programme of information and events is run by the Cabinet Office for officials across the Civil Service. Last year over 1500 civil servants took part in these, with many more events arranged by individual departments, agencies and public bodies.

Plans for a similar programme for UK Parliament Week 2022 are supported by ministers in the Cabinet Office. Promotion will begin in August and we look forward to taking part in UK Parliament Week from 14-20 November.


Written Question
Cultural Heritage: West Midlands
Friday 20th May 2022

Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - Wolverhampton South West)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Prime Minister, what plans he has to celebrate Black Country Day on 14 July 2022.

Answered by Boris Johnson

As a former resident of Bilston, I am proud of the enormous contribution that the Black Country has made and continues to make to the UK. I encourage everyone to join in as we celebrate the region's industrial heritage, history and culture on Black Country Day.


Written Question
Cultural Heritage: West Midlands
Thursday 28th April 2022

Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - Wolverhampton South West)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Prime Minister, whether he has plans to celebrate Black Country Day on the 14 July 2022.

Answered by Boris Johnson

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.


Written Question
Veterans: Suicide
Monday 21st March 2022

Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - Wolverhampton South West)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the Government’s plans to tackle suicide among veterans.

Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)

The Government is clear that any suicide is a tragedy and is fully committed to tackling suicide among veterans. In September 2021, we announced a new method for recording veteran suicide. We expect the first reports from this data to be available in 2023.

Concurrent to that work, the MOD, ONS and OVA are working collaboratively to publish a 10-year lookback on veteran deaths through suicide, alcohol misuse and drug abuse. Having a better understanding of the number of veterans taking their own lives will help inform future policy and interventions in support of veterans.

Our ambition is to ensure that no veteran’s request for help goes unanswered. The veterans' mental health and wellbeing service, Op COURAGE, was allocated £17.8million funding last year and an extra £2.7million over the next three years. Further, we are supporting veteran-friendly accreditation for GPs and veteran-aware training for social work teams.

Additional funding has been awarded to service charities involved in supporting the mental health of veterans, such as through the £5million Afghanistan Veterans Fund, as well as an additional £10 million to the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust.


Written Question
Places for Growth Programme
Tuesday 1st March 2022

Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - Wolverhampton South West)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent progress has made on (a) delivering on the aims of the Places for Growth Programme and (b) employing more civil servants outside of London.

Answered by Jacob Rees-Mogg

More than 2,000 Civil Service jobs have already been relocated from Greater London.

Places for Growth is contributing towards the Declaration on Government Reform and Levelling Up agenda by significantly increasing the geographic spread of Civil Servants across the UK, increasing opportunities for people from a wider range of places and closing the distance between national and local decision-makers. This is being delivered by moving 15,000 Civil Service roles out of Greater London by 2025.


Written Question
Veterans: Mental Health Services
Friday 10th December 2021

Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - Wolverhampton South West)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to support veterans with mental health needs.

Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)

Our ambition is to ensure that no veteran’s request for help goes unanswered. The veterans' mental health and wellbeing service, Op COURAGE, has been allocated £17.8m funding this year and will benefit from a boost of £2.7m over the next three years. The Prime Minister recently announced an additional £5 million for service charities following the UK's withdrawal from Afghanistan, which will be used on a range of projects including increasing capacity in mental health support. In March, the government also announced an additional £10 million to the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust to distribute to charitable projects supporting veterans’ mental health needs. This is on top of the annual £10 million awarded to the Trust.

The upcoming ‘Strategy for our Veterans Action Plan’ will further outline the Government’s plans to support veterans.