Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much funding his Department provided to veteran’s groups in Wakefield in 2020.

The Government provides a range of financial support to veterans groups including through regular allocations of £10million per annum to the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust, to be distributed amongst the service charity sector. In 2020, as it has this year, the Government provided an additional £10million to deliver charitable projects and initiatives that support veterans with mental health needs. A further £6m was provided to over 100 charities through the COVID-19 Impact Fund, to sustain charitable operations through the pandemic.

These figures include both funding for local projects and for organisations who operate nationally. The Government does not hold a central breakdown of all funding received by veterans groups that operate in Wakefield. However, an example of local funding is the grant awarded to Age UK Wakefield District, which received £18,747 enabling them to reach out to over 100 local Veterans dealing with issues such as Shopping and other practical help to emotional and wellbeing calls to people struggling on their own in this uncertain time.