Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 28 February 2024 to Question 14455 on Mental Health Services: Veterans, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of using social prescribing to support veterans with mild mental health conditions.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
NHS England commissions Op COURAGE, which provides a comprehensive mental health service for veterans. Since its inception in 2017, over 35,000 referrals have been made to Op COURAGE. NHS England does not hold data on the number of veterans who have accessed Op COURAGE services on more than one occasion, or the numbers of veterans with gambling additions that have used Op COURAGE.
NHS England has commissioned three pilot sites to explore and evaluate the merits of social prescribing in the Armed Forces Community. The outcome of the evaluation is planned for Autumn 2024, and the findings will inform a toolkit which can be used by other social prescribing teams.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 22 February 2024 to Question 12907 on Mental Health Services: Veterans, if she will make an estimate of the number of veterans with gambling addictions that have used Op COURAGE since its inception.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
NHS England commissions Op COURAGE, which provides a comprehensive mental health service for veterans. Since its inception in 2017, over 35,000 referrals have been made to Op COURAGE. NHS England does not hold data on the number of veterans who have accessed Op COURAGE services on more than one occasion, or the numbers of veterans with gambling additions that have used Op COURAGE.
NHS England has commissioned three pilot sites to explore and evaluate the merits of social prescribing in the Armed Forces Community. The outcome of the evaluation is planned for Autumn 2024, and the findings will inform a toolkit which can be used by other social prescribing teams.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 28 February 2024 to Question 14455 on Mental Health Services: Veterans, how many veterans were referred to Op COURAGE more than once since its inception.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
NHS England commissions Op COURAGE, which provides a comprehensive mental health service for veterans. Since its inception in 2017, over 35,000 referrals have been made to Op COURAGE. NHS England does not hold data on the number of veterans who have accessed Op COURAGE services on more than one occasion, or the numbers of veterans with gambling additions that have used Op COURAGE.
NHS England has commissioned three pilot sites to explore and evaluate the merits of social prescribing in the Armed Forces Community. The outcome of the evaluation is planned for Autumn 2024, and the findings will inform a toolkit which can be used by other social prescribing teams.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of existing treatment services for veterans with alcohol and drug dependency.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The National Rehabilitation Centre (NRC) is part of the Government’s New Hospital Programme, with construction starting in 2023. This new 70-bed facility will benefit all patients including veterans by bringing together patient care, research, innovation, and training and education under one roof.
In addition, Op RESTORE has been commissioned by NHS England to act as a comprehensive veterans’ mental and physical health and wellbeing service. It supports individuals who have served in, or are leaving, the British Armed Forces and who have physical health injuries and related medical problems attributed to their time in the Armed Forces. Additionally, in April 2023, a new integrated Op COURAGE service launched which includes access to dedicated support for those presenting with substance misuse and other addictions such as gambling. Access to Op COURAGE is via referral or by direct contact from veterans, with a campaign to raise awareness of Op COURAGE having been launched on 9 January 2024.
The Government is providing an additional £10 million to support the Veterans’ Places, People and Pathways Programme to increase support to a significant community of vulnerable veterans throughout the United Kingdom, and to enable it to become self-sustaining.
The Government has not made any assessment of the adequacy of existing rehabilitative care for injured veterans, existing treatment services for veterans with alcohol and drug dependency or existing mental health support for veterans who are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
The Minister for Veterans' Affairs and Office for Veterans' Affairs engage with Five Eyes international partners to share best practice on research and policy delivery. This engagement covers a wide range of issues relating to veterans including physical health. My Rt hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has not had additional engagement with international partners on rehabilitative care for veterans.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department (a) has taken and (b) plans to take steps to learn from international best practice on the provision of rehabilitative care for injured veterans.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The National Rehabilitation Centre (NRC) is part of the Government’s New Hospital Programme, with construction starting in 2023. This new 70-bed facility will benefit all patients including veterans by bringing together patient care, research, innovation, and training and education under one roof.
In addition, Op RESTORE has been commissioned by NHS England to act as a comprehensive veterans’ mental and physical health and wellbeing service. It supports individuals who have served in, or are leaving, the British Armed Forces and who have physical health injuries and related medical problems attributed to their time in the Armed Forces. Additionally, in April 2023, a new integrated Op COURAGE service launched which includes access to dedicated support for those presenting with substance misuse and other addictions such as gambling. Access to Op COURAGE is via referral or by direct contact from veterans, with a campaign to raise awareness of Op COURAGE having been launched on 9 January 2024.
The Government is providing an additional £10 million to support the Veterans’ Places, People and Pathways Programme to increase support to a significant community of vulnerable veterans throughout the United Kingdom, and to enable it to become self-sustaining.
The Government has not made any assessment of the adequacy of existing rehabilitative care for injured veterans, existing treatment services for veterans with alcohol and drug dependency or existing mental health support for veterans who are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
The Minister for Veterans' Affairs and Office for Veterans' Affairs engage with Five Eyes international partners to share best practice on research and policy delivery. This engagement covers a wide range of issues relating to veterans including physical health. My Rt hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has not had additional engagement with international partners on rehabilitative care for veterans.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of existing rehabilitative care for injured veterans.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The National Rehabilitation Centre (NRC) is part of the Government’s New Hospital Programme, with construction starting in 2023. This new 70-bed facility will benefit all patients including veterans by bringing together patient care, research, innovation, and training and education under one roof.
In addition, Op RESTORE has been commissioned by NHS England to act as a comprehensive veterans’ mental and physical health and wellbeing service. It supports individuals who have served in, or are leaving, the British Armed Forces and who have physical health injuries and related medical problems attributed to their time in the Armed Forces. Additionally, in April 2023, a new integrated Op COURAGE service launched which includes access to dedicated support for those presenting with substance misuse and other addictions such as gambling. Access to Op COURAGE is via referral or by direct contact from veterans, with a campaign to raise awareness of Op COURAGE having been launched on 9 January 2024.
The Government is providing an additional £10 million to support the Veterans’ Places, People and Pathways Programme to increase support to a significant community of vulnerable veterans throughout the United Kingdom, and to enable it to become self-sustaining.
The Government has not made any assessment of the adequacy of existing rehabilitative care for injured veterans, existing treatment services for veterans with alcohol and drug dependency or existing mental health support for veterans who are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
The Minister for Veterans' Affairs and Office for Veterans' Affairs engage with Five Eyes international partners to share best practice on research and policy delivery. This engagement covers a wide range of issues relating to veterans including physical health. My Rt hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has not had additional engagement with international partners on rehabilitative care for veterans.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many gambling or gaming machines are present on military bases in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
I can confirm that some gambling and gaming machines are present on military bases in the UK. Whilst I am unable to advise precisely how many there are as this information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost, I would wish to provide reassurance that work is underway to understand the scale of problem gambling within the Armed Forces and to address it accordingly.
Asked by: Kim Leadbeater (Labour - Batley and Spen)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to help reduce the risk of members of the armed forces developing gambling disorders.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) takes problem-gambling seriously. We provide financial awareness training for our people so that they are enabled to make informed financial decisions. Defence also offers welfare support to those who are adversely affected by problem-gambling, which can include signposting to specialist support organisations such as the NHS Problem Gambling Clinic. Defence has also established a team to consider appropriate responses to addictions, including problem-gambling, under the remit of the Health and Wellbeing Strategy, which was published in June 2022. This team is commissioning a new gambling awareness and harm reduction service, due to start in April 2023, further developing our understanding of problem-gambling in the Armed Forces by supporting high quality academic research, engaging across government with policy experts from the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, and developing additional appropriate clinical treatment pathways that will be delivered by Defence Primary Healthcare teams. Defence also blocks gambling websites on its networks in order to reduce their accessibility.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether there are any gaming machines of any category as defined in the Gambling Act 2005 in any (1) catering, (2) retail, or (3) leisure facilities, in UK bases provided by the Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
I can confirm that some gaming machines are present in the facilities noted. However, I am unable to advise precisely how many there are as this information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. As indicated at the committee on the Armed Forces Bill on 2 November 2021, direction has been given by the Army for any gambling/ gaming machines on their bases to be removed.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Forces in Mind Trust report The United Kingdom Armed Forces Veterans' Health and Gambling Study, published on 23 September.
Answered by Lord True - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
This UK wide study explores levels of gambling participation and attitudes towards gambling in ex-serving personnel and adds to the important existing data on the issue of gambling in our veteran community. We will consider the study’s findings as part of our broader research programme looking at a range of policy issues which may affect veterans and their families.
We are fully committed to providing support to our veterans. Veterans can access a range of health and wellbeing services to help them with mental and physical health problems. Veterans who need support can access it via the Veterans' Gateway which provides a single point of contact to make it easier for veterans, service personnel and their families to get the right information, advice and support 24/7. The National Gambling Helpline also gives confidential information, advice and support for anyone affected by gambling problems in England, Scotland and Wales.