This is part of a package of support announced by the
Chancellor in April to ensure charities can continue
their vital work during the pandemic.
The charities in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern
Ireland that are benefiting from this funding range
from smaller local charities to bigger, more well-known
names.
The charities provide support to veterans and serving
personnel in a range of different areas, including
employment, mental health and well-being, physical
health, and recovery and support for service families.
As part of the government’s commitment to supporting
service personnel throughout their military and
civilian lives, next month a consultation will also be
launched on employers paying no National Insurance
contributions on the salary of any veteran they take on
during their first year of civilian employment.
This delivers on the government’s manifesto commitment
to encourage businesses to further utilise the immense
skills and experience that veterans can bring to
businesses.
Minister for Defence People and Veterans
said:
Today we mark and give thanks to our veterans for the
outstanding service which they have given to this
country. To show our appreciation we’re advancing
veterans issues across government, through the Office
for Veterans’ Affairs. I’m delighted as well to
confirm extra funding for service charities to help
them through the COVID-19 pandemic.
Chancellor of the Exchequer said:
If it wasn’t for the brave servicemen and women who
serve and protect our country, we would not have a
United Kingdom to call our home.
That’s why we must continue to do everything we can
to support our veterans through these challenging
times.
Under the plans announced in this year’s Budget, an
employer taking on a veteran earning £25,000 will save
around £2,000 in NICs.
General Sir John McColl, Chairman of the Confederation
of Service Charities, said:
This emergency funding is a very welcome step towards
sustaining life-saving support for those in need
across the Armed Forces Community. The Service
Charity Sector has once again demonstrated great
imagination and determination in adapting its
delivery methods during this crisis, and we look
forward to continuing to work with the MOD and the
OVA to sustain these vital services in the coming
months as the true impact of the pandemic is fully
felt by charities throughout the Sector.
Employers currently pay Employers’ National Insurance
contributions of 13.8% of the employee’s salary. Under
this measure, they will be able to save this cost on an
employee’s salary up to the Upper Earnings Limit
(£50,000).
Recently the OVA announced the launch of a study to
look at whether COVID-19 has had any specific impact on
the veteran community in the UK. This in turn will
allow policy makers in government to understand
potential issues affecting veterans and respond
accordingly based on expert advice and evidence.
The OVA, which was created last year, is ensuring that
the whole of government is delivering better outcomes
for veterans, particularly in areas such as mental
health, employment and housing. It is working in
partnership with government departments, the Devolved
Administrations and charities to coordinate activity
across the United Kingdom.
The role of the OVA includes:
- pulling together all functions of government, and
better coordinating charity sector provision, in order
to ensure this nation’s life-long duty to those who
have served
- ensuring that every single veteran and their family
knows where to turn to access support when required
- helping to generate a ‘single view of the veteran’
by making better use of data to understand veterans’
needs and where gaps in provision exist
- improving the perception of veterans.
The charities receiving funding are as follows:
- ABF The Soldiers’ Charity
- Age UK Suffolk
- Alabaré Christian Care and Support
- Armed Forces Community Support Hub
- Beyond the Battlefield NI
- Blind Veterans UK
- Bravehound
- Bright Horizons Day care Centre
- British Limbless Ex-Servicemen’s Association
- British Nuclear Test Veterans Association
- Brooke House Project
- Broughton House Home for Ex-Service Men and Women
- Building Heroes Education Foundation
- Burnley FC in the Community
- Can International
- Cardiff City FC Foundation
- Care After Combat
- Care and Repair (North East Wales)
- Care for Veterans (formerly The Queen Alexandra
Hospital Home)
- Catterick Garrison Preschool Group
- Central Bank Lisburn Station
- Ceredigion Armed Forces Veterans Hub
- Combat Stress
- Communities Fiji Britain
- Deafblind Cymru
- Dig In
- East Sussex Veterans Hub
- Erskine
- Finchale Group
- Friends of Wavell
- Future for Heroes
- Gloucester Rugby Foundation
- Groundwork Manchester Salford Stockport Tameside
and Trafford
- Help 4 Homeless Veterans
- Help for Heroes
- Historic Army Aircraft Flight Trust
- Home Start Richmondshire
- Horseback UK
- Hull FC Community Foundation
- Icarus
- Improving Lives Plymouth
- Invictus Games Foundation
- KartForce
- Maximum Edge C.I.C.
- Mindfulness Scotland
- Mission Motorsport
- Nomad Construction Training CIC
- On Course Foundation
- Operation Veteran CIC
- Oxford Parent Infant Project
- Poppy Factory
- Poppyscotland
- PTSD Resolution Ltd
- Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham Charity
- Quick Response Memorial Woodland
- RAF Association
- RAF Brize Norton Pre-School
- RAF Benevolent Fund
- Reading Force
- Recruit for Spouses Career Academy CIC
- RFEA - The Regular Forces Employment Charity
- Royal British Legion Industries
- Royal Hospital of Chelsea
- Sailors Children’s Society
- Scotty’s Little Soldiers
- Sharks Community Trust
- Sheffield Mind
- Shots in the Community Foundation
- Smart Savings South West CIC
- Special Boat Service Association
- Spinal Injuries Association
- St John & Red Cross Defence Medical Welfare
Service (DMWS)
- Stand Easy
- Step Together
- Supporting Wounded Veterans Ltd
- Surf Action
- Team Endeavour Racing UK
- The Advocacy People
- The Bridge for Heroes
- The British Training Board
- The Felix Fund
- The Matthew Project
- The Military Wives Choirs Foundation
- The Not Forgotten Association
- The Royal Air Force Central Fund
- The Royal British Legion
- The Royal Marines Charitable Trust Fund
- The Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity
- The Royal Star and Garter Homes
- The Sir Oswald Stoll Foundation
- The Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families
Association - Forces Help
- The VC Gallery
- The Veterans Charity
- The Veterans Hub Weymouth & Portland CIC
- The Warrior Programme
- Thistle Health and Wellbeing
- Tom Harrison House
- Veterans Aid
- Veterans in Communities
- Veterans Outreach Support
- Walking With The Wounded
- Waterloo Uncovered
- Wigan Borough Armed Forces HQ CIC.
