Asked by: Maureen Burke (Labour - Glasgow North East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of further education colleges in Scotland on the skills requirement for the defence industrial strategy.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Further education has a significant role to play in giving Scotland’s, and the UK’s, defence sector the highly skilled workforce they need, both now and in the future. That is why, alongside the Defence Industrial Strategy, we have announced a £182 million skills package that contains initiatives to support people at all stages of their education and careers, including those in further education. This package includes specific funding allocated to support skills needs in Scotland, which as part of Scotland’s Defence Growth Deal, we are working with key stakeholders to define how this funding is best spent to support defence skills development in Scotland.
Asked by: Maureen Burke (Labour - Glasgow North East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to support veterans.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
This is a Government of service that will always stand up for those who serve our country. I am working across government and with civil society to ensure veterans get access to the support they need.
This Government has already taken swift action to demonstrate our commitment to renew this nation’s contract with those who have served. In November the Prime Minister announced an additional £3.5 million of funding for the continuation of the cross-UK Reducing Veterans Homelessness Programme, including Op FORTITUDE. This is in addition to the reforms he announced earlier in the year which mean that veterans are now exempt from local connection and residency tests when applying for social housing in England.
Housing support is available across the United Kingdom through Op FORTITUDE, a single referral pathway for veterans. This system provides housing guidance and assistance to veterans experiencing or at risk of homelessness. As of 5 January 2025, 2,993 referrals have been made and 854 veterans have been supported into housing.
A range of support is in place for veterans. In England Op RESTORE provides specialist care to veterans who have physical health problems, and Op COURAGE, a specialist mental health service that helps service leavers, veterans and reservists. Healthcare is devolved across the UK, and as such systems that can be accessed by veterans differ in the Devolved Governments. As of 3 January 2025, over 35,000 referrals have been made to Op COURAGE and Op RESTORE has over 1,000 service users.
Veterans can also access a range of tailored employment support, including the Career Transition Partnership, which is the initial point of provision for those leaving military service in search of new job opportunities.
The Government’s manifesto commitment to include the Veteran Card in the list of voter identification has already been delivered with the legislation coming into effect in December 2024..
In December 2024 the MoD launched an LGBT financial recognition scheme, with a total budget of £75 million, which was 50% higher than the level recommended in the Etherton review and the cap set by the last Government. This will mean that almost all of the 49 recommendations made by Lord Etherton will have been delivered.
We will continue to stand up for those who served and have served and are currently reviewing how we can make veterans’ support more institutionally resilient.