Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his oral contribution of 12 May 2020, Official Report, Column 122, when the Government plans to reopen the Veterans UK helpline.

The Veterans UK helpline never closed. The COVID-19 situation necessitated the delivery of services differently. The Veterans UK helpline was adapted to enable veterans to hear recorded service information on topics they may have needed help with, and written enquiries could still be submitted in the normal manner via email. Call backs and referral to the Veterans Welfare Service were provided where urgent or vulnerable callers were identified.

The Veterans UK helpline is now accepting a limited number of telephone calls and officials are working to restore as full a telephony service as soon as possible.