Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs will make it his policy to develop a mechanism for following up on the welfare of veterans.

The welfare of this country's veterans is a high priority for this government. We set up the Office for Veterans’ Affairs in 2019 to sit at the heart of government in the Cabinet Office. It coordinates and drives forward work across the UK Government to support veterans.

The Veterans' Strategy Action Plan launched in January 2022 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.

Veterans UK provide ongoing welfare support for veterans of any age, and their families through the Veterans Welfare Service. The NHS’ veterans health and wellbeing service, Op COURAGE, provides a bespoke mental health pathway for veterans, as well as supporting links to other organisations which can help with veterans’ wider health and wellbeing needs. The Veterans’ Gateway provides a first point of contact to ensure veterans are directed to the right services via a website and telephone, SMS and live chat advisors. The Government strongly encourages any veterans who need support to engage with it.