Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many veterans in the West Midlands accessed Op COURAGE in the last year.

Since 2017, NHS England has expanded the services available to veterans with the introduction of the Transition, Intervention and Liaison Service (TILS) in 2017, followed by the Complex Treatment Service (CTS) in 2018 and the High Intensity Service (HIS) in 2020. The commissioning of each of these services led to the introduction of the overarching name Op COURAGE.

From 1 April 2023, a new integrated Op COURAGE service has been operational. This new service has brought together the previously three separate mental health services for veterans into a single service to make it easier for veterans to access the support they need when they need it.

Between January 2023 and December 2023, there were 6,524 referrals into Op COURAGE. In the same period, there were 568 referrals from general practices within a West Midlands integrated care board. It is possible that a veteran has had more than one referral into the service.

Veterans can also choose to use Talking Therapies and other mental health services commissioned by NHS England. Between January 2023 and December 2023, there were 20,485 veteran referrals into Talking Therapies services.

In 2021, the Government committed an additional £2.7 million to March 2025, to expand Op COURAGE following the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from Afghanistan.

In January 2024, NHS England launched a national campaign to raise awareness of Op COURAGE and encourage veterans struggling with their mental health to seek help from the service. The campaign will run until March 2024.

As well as the National Health Service-commissioned Op COURAGE service, the Government is providing an additional £10 million to support the Veterans’ Places, People and Pathways Programme to increase support to a significant community of vulnerable veterans throughout the UK and enable the programme to become self-sustaining.

The Principal Social Work Network for Adults across England meet on a regular basis to review all aspects of social work practice and training underpinned by statutory and policy guidance which includes the needs of the Veterans community.

NHS England is the commissioner of Op COURAGE and other mainstream mental health services. NHS England has engaged with international counterparts on best practice on tackling veterans’ mental health issues and will continue to collaborate in this way to ensure the services in England reflect best practice and evidence-based learnings in the commissioning of bespoke services for veterans.