Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he plans to roll out phase 2 of the Veterans' ID card.
A veteran does not require a recognition or ID card to prove their status; there are a number of ways an individual veteran, or service provider, can verify someone’s Service and facilitate access to support or discounts such as the Veterans’ Railcard which was made available in November 2020. In addition, a wide range of benefits and discounts provided by the commercial sector can be accessed via the Defence Discount Service, which veterans are entitled to join and register for the official Veterans’ Discount Card, the Defence Privilege Card.
The Government remains committed to developing an online digital verification tool which will make it as easy as possible for veterans to verify their Service. A delivery date will be confirmed in due course, along with details of the next phase of the Veterans’ ID card roll-out. Closer to the launch date, information will be released at the following website: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-veterans-id-cards-rolled-out-to-service-leavers
If veterans are unclear on what they are entitled to, they can contact the Veterans Welfare Service through the gov.uk website (https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/veterans-welfare-service), using the UK freephone number 0808 1914 2 18 (overseas +44 1253 866043) or using veterans-uk@mod.gov.uk