Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 20 March to Question 18351 on Universal Support: Veterans, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Universal Support programme in supporting veterans.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Universal Support is being delivered in two phases. Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care (IPSPC) is being delivered across 42 local authority areas in England, and two areas in Wales providing support for up to 25,000 disabled people and people with health conditions and new support through the Work and Health Programme Pioneer for an additional 25,000 people across England and Wales. Veterans can access Pioneer support, and IPSPC if they have a disability or health condition.
Universal Support will be delivered through around 50 Local Authority led delivery areas, covering all of England and Wales. We expect areas will go live with Universal Support in a phased way from Autumn 2024.
The next release of published statistics for the Work and Health Programme (WHP) is planned for 30 May 2024. This was announced in the latest Work and Health statistics release.
This release will include statistics on starts, referrals and individual referrals to WHP Pioneer, which is part of the first phase of Universal Support (US). Statistics on job outcomes and first earnings from employment will be released in later publications.
The Secretary of State has also committed to the publication of data for the Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care (IPSPC) provision as part of the first phase of US. This will be pre-announced prior to publication.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 20 March to Question 18351 on Universal Support: Veterans, how many veterans used the Universal Support programme in 2022-23.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Universal Support is being delivered in two phases. Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care (IPSPC) is being delivered across 42 local authority areas in England, and two areas in Wales providing support for up to 25,000 disabled people and people with health conditions and new support through the Work and Health Programme Pioneer for an additional 25,000 people across England and Wales. Veterans can access Pioneer support, and IPSPC if they have a disability or health condition.
Universal Support will be delivered through around 50 Local Authority led delivery areas, covering all of England and Wales. We expect areas will go live with Universal Support in a phased way from Autumn 2024.
The next release of published statistics for the Work and Health Programme (WHP) is planned for 30 May 2024. This was announced in the latest Work and Health statistics release.
This release will include statistics on starts, referrals and individual referrals to WHP Pioneer, which is part of the first phase of Universal Support (US). Statistics on job outcomes and first earnings from employment will be released in later publications.
The Secretary of State has also committed to the publication of data for the Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care (IPSPC) provision as part of the first phase of US. This will be pre-announced prior to publication.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 15 April 2024 to Question 19769 on Carers’ Allowance: Veterans, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of recording whether Carers’ Allowance claimants are veterans.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
As explained in the answer on 15 April, to PQ19769, we have no plans to introduce a veterans’ marker for Carer’s Allowance. Therefore, we do not hold information on the number of veterans receiving Carer’s Allowance in garrison towns.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 25 March 2024 to Question 19525 on Pension Credit: Veterans, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of recording whether Pension Credit claimants (a) are and (b) have been members of the armed forces.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Information on a claimant’s previous occupation is not relevant for a Pension Credit claim.
We have no plans to routinely collect additional information on veterans beyond that which we already collect for Universal Credit, and we will not be extending this to other benefits.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many veterans in garrison towns claimed Carer’s Allowance in 2022-23.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
As explained in the answer on 15 April, to PQ19769, we have no plans to introduce a veterans’ marker for Carer’s Allowance. Therefore, we do not hold information on the number of veterans receiving Carer’s Allowance in garrison towns.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an estimate of the number of veterans that have (a) died and (b) committed suicide whilst awaiting a final settlement of a claim to the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme since 2019.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The information requested cannot be provided without exceeding the disproportionate cost limit.
However, I can confirm that between 1 January 2019 and 31 March 2024, ten veterans whose next of kin decided to proceed with the active claim died before receiving an outcome of either an initial Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) injury/illness claim or an appeal. The figure includes claims which were still open on 31 March 2024.
The Ministry of Defence does not hold information on the cause of death where a claimant dies before receiving an outcome of claim under the AFCS. Therefore, it is not possible to identify veterans that have committed suicide whilst awaiting a claim outcome since 2019.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many employers received national insurance relief as a result of employing veterans in financial year 2022-23.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The number of employers who received National Insurance relief as a result of employing veterans in financial year 2022 to 2023 can be found online at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/main-tax-expenditures-and-structural-reliefs
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an estimate of the number of veterans in garrison towns that claimed PIP in 2022-23.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
As explained in the answer on 13 March, to PQ16600, we have no plans to introduce a veterans’ marker for Personal Independence Payment (PIP). Therefore, we have no current plans to estimate the number of veterans receiving PIP in garrison towns.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 26th April 2024, to Question 22839, on Universal Credit: Veterans, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a method of collecting data on the armed forces status of universal credit claimants in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The administration of Universal Credit in Northern Ireland is devolved to the Department for Communities.
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 vast majority of Service personnel successfully transition to civilian life with very few challenges. The Defence Holistic Transition Policy (JSP100) was launched in 2019 and sets out how the Ministry of Defence supports Service leavers to assist in a successful transition.
All Service leavers are entitled to support from the Career Transition Partnership (CTP). This has recently been changed to be an opt-out service, increasing attendance of service leavers.
The Veterans Welfare Service (VWS), Defence Transition Services (DTS) and the Integrated Personal Commissioning for Veterans (IPC4V) work together to deliver holistic transition and welfare support to the Armed Forces community. All three services provide information, guidance and support. They facilitate access to entitlements and services provided by MOD, OGDs, local authorities and the charity sector via signposting or referrals, as required in line with client need and capacity. The teams are based throughout the UK, including Northern Ireland.