- £6million of new funding announced for 100 military
charities across the UK
- Consultation will be launched in July on tax relief for
businesses that employ veterans
- Enhanced support for ex-service personnel announced
during Armed Forces week part of government’s drive to make
the UK the best country to be a veteran
Today the Office for Veterans’ Affairs (OVA) and the MOD
have announced that 100 Armed Forces charities will benefit
from nearly £6million of extra funding to support serving
personnel, veterans and their families during the
coronavirus pandemic.
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 benefitting 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 wellbeing, 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 £25k 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:
- 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
- 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 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
