Minister for Defence and Families (Dr Andrew Murrison): The
following joint statement is released on behalf of the , Minister for Defence People and
Families and , Minister for Veterans’
Affairs.
We are pleased to announce the completion and publication of the
Government response to the Independent Review of UK Government
Welfare Services for veterans.
We informed the House on 2 March that we had commissioned a
review into the role, scope and breadth of UK Government welfare
provision for veterans, including by the Ministry of Defence
under the Veterans UK banner. This is the first time these have
been considered in the round since the launch of the Strategy for
our Veterans and corresponding Veterans Strategy Action Plan, and
the creation of the Office for Veterans’ Affairs. On 17 July, we
announced in a written statement to the House that this review
had been published.
The Review made 35 strategic and operational recommendations. The
most significant of these include redefining the scope, time and
eligibility limitations of Government services so that they are
no longer available to all veterans in perpetuity; amending
Ministerial titles to better distinguish the roles of the MOD and
OVA in veterans support; retiring the MOD’s "Veterans UK"
branding; exploring greater commissioning of services within and
out of Government; and moving the Northern Ireland Veterans’
Support Office into the OVA. These recommendations are supported
by a series of proposals concerning improved and coordinated
communications, and enhanced data collection and sharing.
There are several recommendations in this review which we can
confirm we are actively taking forward, which includes the
retirement of the "Veterans UK" branding name in 2024, and the
transformation of how we deliver the welfare services which fall
under that umbrella. This will enable a more consistent level of
service to those accessing support. "Veterans" will be removed
from the Minister for Defence People, Veterans and Service
Families title, to avoid confusion as to who holds primacy for
coordinating veterans’ policy across Government. MOD will
continue administering service pensions and compensation,
transition support and welfare support for those with
service-related issues.
OVA is working to consider the options for improving Veterans
Gateway content and the referral journey, exploring how a renewed
Veterans' Gateway can direct users to the information and support
they need. In addition, MOD and OVA will continue to work
together to assess opportunities for data sharing more widely
across Government and other organisations across the sector. Tied
into this work, MOD will examine the proposal for a new welfare
case management system with the aim to create a holistic view of
a welfare case and be able to share this more easily, where
appropriate, with other service providers so that a veteran could
be referred more effectively to relevant support across the
sector.
The Government recognises the views expressed in the review on
the knowledge and trust held by the Northern Ireland Veterans
Support Office (NIVSO). OVA will fund the NIVSO for FY 2024-25
from its budget, while evaluating its impact to determine future
funding and governance arrangements.
We know that veterans and supporting organisations want to see
real change taken to enhance and rationalise welfare services for
our Armed Forces Community, and that is what we intend to do in
response to this Review. The response sets out several of our
commitments and high-level plans to take forward the intention of
the recommendations, and further detail will be made available as
we make progress in due course.
