Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many veterans are (a) in prison and (b) in the criminal justice system, as a result of violent crimes.

The Ministry of Justice publishes a yearly snapshot which estimates the number of former service personnel in the prison population. The second of these was published in October 2019, with the next estimate due in October 2020. Further details can be found at the following link -https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/842613/Ex-service_personnel_in_the_prison_population_Q2_2019.pdf’

Our analysis of the prison population showed that as at 30 June 2019, 2,105 prisoners had declared as ‘ex-service personnel’ when they were first received into custody between January 2015 and June 2019. Of these, 448 have an offence of violence against a person. We do not hold the information requested in the criminal justice system for former service personnel.

We remain committed to ensuring that those who have served in the Armed Forces and who find themselves in the criminal justice system are able to access support, whether they are serving their sentence in custody or in the community. Through the Armed Forces Covenant Trust Fund, we have committed to support programmes worth £4.6 million targeted at former service personnel in the criminal justice system, and recently awarded an additional £1.1 million to continue supporting this cohort.