Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of taking further steps with private sector employers to help support more veterans into employment.
Answered by Johnny Mercer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Minister for Veterans' Affairs)
This Government is committed to making sure that our veterans and their families have equitable access and opportunity to a full range of career options after leaving military service, and to working with employers to make this vision a reality.
The recently announced Op PROSPER backed by £2.1 million in government funding will work closely with employers and industry bodies to establish new clear and accessible routes for veterans and their families into employment which makes the most of their skills and capabilities, in key industries at the forefront of innovation and economic growth.
We have also introduced and continued 12-month National Insurance relief for eligible employers recruiting veterans in their first civilian role after leaving military service, which is of benefit to all businesses and employers across the country.
This work is supported by the OVA-launched Employers Guide to Hiring Veterans which showcases innovation and best practice and the OVA-hosted Veteran Employers’ Group brings together leading employers from across the UK.
Mentions:
1: Andrew Murrison (Con - South West Wiltshire) The following joint statement is released on behalf of myself and the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs - Speech Link
Oct. 27 2011
Source Page: British nuclear test veterans health needs audit, Miles and Green Associates. 117 p.Found: British nuclear test veterans health needs audit, Miles and Green Associates. 117 p.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how his Department plans to measure and monitor the impact of the Veterans Strategy and Action Plan.
Answered by Johnny Mercer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Minister for Veterans' Affairs)
The Office for Veterans’ Affairs, alongside partners across and beyond government, continue to monitor the progress of delivery against commitments in the 2022-2024 Strategy Action Plan, and regularly publish updates on progress. The most recent update was provided in the Armed Forces Covenant and Veterans Annual Report laid in Parliament in December 2023. Additionally, the Veterans Advisory Board receives verbal updates on progress made to delivering the Strategy and Action Plan at regular intervals.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the employment rate for veterans was in financial year (a) 2018-19, (b) 2021-22 and (c) 2022-23.
Answered by Johnny Mercer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Minister for Veterans' Affairs)
This Government is committed to making the United Kingdom the best place in the world to be a veteran. This includes making sure all veterans have equity of opportunity and access to valuable, sustainable careers after they leave military service.
Veterans’ employment in the UK is at an all-time high, at 89% within six months of leaving service for those who engage with the available support. Previously, this was at 88% in 2021/22, and 86% in 2018/19.
Op PROSPER, the first-of-its kind initiative backed by £2.1 million of government funding, will further support our veterans into valuable, fulfilling roles which make full use of their capabilities, in sectors at the forefront of the UK’s innovation and economic growth.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 17 April 2024 to Question 20858 on Teachers: Veterans, what steps her Department has taken to advertise the availability of the undergraduate teaching bursary for veterans.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The £40,000 tax free undergraduate veteran teaching bursary is available to veterans who have left full time employment from the British Army, Royal Air Force, or Royal Navy and enrol on an eligible undergraduate initial teacher training (ITT) course. The bursary is paid over the final two years of the course with £20,000 payable in each year. Veterans who have a degree can undertake postgraduate ITT courses where they can access the bursaries and scholarships of up to £30,000 available on these routes into teaching.
The department remains committed to promoting opportunities for service leavers and veterans, including supporting their journey into teaching in primary, secondary and further education through its broad support services and bursaries. Since the publication of its commitments in the ‘Veterans Strategy Action Plan 2022 to 2024’, the department has ensured that there is tailored support available for the veteran community including dedicated teacher training advisers, webpages, case study blogs on the Get Into Teaching website and information in Civvy Street publications. More information on this support can be found at the following links:
The department also collaborates with the Career Transition Partnership and British Forces Resettlement Service to provide bespoke webinars, and presence at regional employer fairs. More information about these can be found at the following links:
The department regularly engages with international governments to share best practice on how to attract and retain talented teachers from all backgrounds and on how to support all teachers in their career journeys. The department’s digital services that manage the ITT application process have been designed to be as user friendly as possible and have been extensively tested with a diverse range of potential applicants to ensure they help remove barriers to great teachers applying for ITT courses.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Belmont (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what support is available for military veterans transitioning back into civilian life.
Answered by Earl of Minto - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Veterans Welfare Service (VWS) supports serving personnel, veterans, the military bereaved, and their families, who have an enduring welfare need or need help to access DWP benefits or injury, bereavement and compensation schemes.
Defence Transition Services (DTS) helps Service leavers and their families, who face challenges as they leave the military and adjust to civilian life.
The support from these two services is available from two years before discharge, through into civilian life and regardless of time served or reason for discharge.
Integrated Personal Commissioning for Veterans (IPC4V) supports Armed Forces personnel who are leaving the services and are suffering from complex and enduring physical, neurological and mental health issues resulting from an injury that is attributable to Service.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of employing veterans in schools to provide courses on leadership and resilience for (a) teachers and (b) students.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
A key principle behind the government's plan for education is to give teachers and school leaders the freedom to use their professional judgement to do what works best for their pupils. As such, headteachers are ultimately responsible for employment in their schools and the department trusts them to take decisions about the right mix of qualifications, skills and experience that they expect teachers in their schools to have.
The department recently reviewed the Initial Teacher Training (ITT) Core Content Framework (CCF) and Early Career Framework (ECF) alongside each other and revised the ITT CCF and the ECF into the combined and updated Initial Teacher Training and Early Career Framework (ITTECF). This now covers the first three years or more at the start of a teacher’s career, and sets out the entitlement of every trainee and early career teacher (ECT) to the core body of knowledge, skills and behaviours that define great teaching. The ITTECF is universal and designed to work for all teachers, across all phases and subjects.
Beyond this, school leaders are responsible for ensuring their workforce has appropriate training to meet the needs of all pupils, which is in line with the department’s position on school autonomy and school leaders being best placed to assess the needs of their pupils and workforce.
The government remains committed to supporting veterans with a passion for teaching to enter the profession, both in schools and the further education sector. The department is working with the Ministry of Defence to ensure veterans are aware of the range of programmes and support available through the department’s services and bursaries.
Veterans are eligible for a tax-free undergraduate bursary of £40,000 if they are:
Graduate veterans may also be eligible for a postgraduate scholarship or bursary if they are training to teach priority subjects.
More information on how the department support veterans to become teachers, including the offer of one-to-one support from a teacher training advisor, can be found here: https://getintoteaching.education.gov.uk/funding-and-support/if-youre-a-veteran.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 17 April 2024 to Question 20858 on Schools: Veterans, what steps her Department plans to take to increase the number of people taking up the undergraduate teaching bursary for veterans.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The £40,000 tax free undergraduate veteran teaching bursary is available to veterans who have left full time employment from the British Army, Royal Air Force, or Royal Navy and enrol on an eligible undergraduate initial teacher training (ITT) course. The bursary is paid over the final two years of the course with £20,000 payable in each year. Veterans who have a degree can undertake postgraduate ITT courses where they can access the bursaries and scholarships of up to £30,000 available on these routes into teaching.
The department remains committed to promoting opportunities for service leavers and veterans, including supporting their journey into teaching in primary, secondary and further education through its broad support services and bursaries. Since the publication of its commitments in the ‘Veterans Strategy Action Plan 2022 to 2024’, the department has ensured that there is tailored support available for the veteran community including dedicated teacher training advisers, webpages, case study blogs on the Get Into Teaching website and information in Civvy Street publications. More information on this support can be found at the following links:
The department also collaborates with the Career Transition Partnership and British Forces Resettlement Service to provide bespoke webinars, and presence at regional employer fairs. More information about these can be found at the following links:
The department regularly engages with international governments to share best practice on how to attract and retain talented teachers from all backgrounds and on how to support all teachers in their career journeys. The department’s digital services that manage the ITT application process have been designed to be as user friendly as possible and have been extensively tested with a diverse range of potential applicants to ensure they help remove barriers to great teachers applying for ITT courses.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when the Minister for Veterans' Affairs last met with the Parliamentary Under Secretary (Minister for Defence, People and Families) to discuss matters relating to veterans.
Answered by Johnny Mercer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Minister for Veterans' Affairs)
The Ministry of Defence and the Office for Veterans’ Affairs work collaboratively together to deliver for veterans, as demonstrated by the recent publication of the Government’s response to both the Independent Review of UK Government Welfare Services for Veterans and LGBT Veterans Independent Review.
My officials and I continue to meet regularly with the Ministry of Defence to deliver shared priorities, including ramping up delivery of Veterans Cards to ex-service personnel across the country.