Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he plans to appoint a new Chair of the Northern Ireland Veterans Advisory and Pensions Committee; and what steps his Department is taking to ensure that veterans in Northern Ireland receive parity of support with veterans in other parts of the United Kingdom.

Ministry of Defence officials are currently working through the latest advice that the Veterans Advisory and Pension Committees have provided, for which I am most grateful. We are currently considering their functions and activity against wider Departmental priorities around veterans, which include the new VALOUR initiative, and recruitment remains paused for the present.

Regarding support for veterans residing in Northern Ireland, we continue to build on the effective collaborative between the Office for Veterans’ Affairs, Veterans Welfare Service Northern Ireland and the Northern Ireland Veterans’ Commissioner’s Office, including enhancing partnerships with the wider veteran support system, such as the Thrive Together programme led by Brooke House.