To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the timetable is for the next steps in his Department's veterans strategy; and what progress he has made in assisting those who (a) become homeless, (b) develop mental illness and (c) experience other personal crises.
Answered on
24 July 2018
The Government's Veterans Strategy champions the changing needs of the ex-Service community. Although the initiative is overseen by the Ministry of Defence (MOD), a task force consisting of Ministers from HM Treasury, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), the Department for Education and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) will help support and implement the strategy.
The strategy will build on the Armed Forces Covenant to show that our commitment to our Service personnel lasts long after they have left the Armed Forces.
The MOD continues to engage with a wide variety of agencies who assist in homelessness and rough sleeping for veterans. Under the Armed Forces Covenant veterans and disabled personnel already have high priority access to social housing, including a five-year exemption for veterans after they have left the Services from proving a local connection to qualify for social housing.
The MOD will be covered by the new MHCLG led statutory requirement scheduled to come into effect this autumn to refer those Service personnel at risk of homelessness when they leave the Armed Forces to the relevant local authority.
It is the National Health Service in England and the Devolved Administrations that has the lead for the provision of healthcare, including mental healthcare, for veterans and we work with DHSC and the NHS to ensure a smooth transition for those Service personnel being discharged with mental health problems.
Support and assistance is available for veterans, including those with personal crises, from MOD's Veterans UK free helpline (0808 1914 2 18), Veterans UK Veterans Welfare Service and the Veterans' Gateway.