Asked by: Sarah Hall (Labour (Co-op) - Warrington South)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to improve access to mental health services for veterans in the North West.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
This is a Government of service that will always stand up for those who have served our country. In the North West and across the United Kingdom, the Veterans Welfare Service provides advice and support to veterans and their families. In England, Op COURAGE and Op RESTORE provide a broad range of specialist mental health, physical and wellbeing care services to veterans.
Additionally, with the North West Thrive Together programme, it is building and improving the veteran self-help referral process and reducing the stigma of asking for help by those that need it the most.
The Reducing Veteran Homelessness ‘Homes at Ease’ programme in the North West provides mental health support for housing applications. In 2024-25, it delivered 267 psychotherapy sessions to 54 beneficiaries to provide a bridge to highly stretched services in the region.
In May this year, we also announced VALOUR, our new commitment, backed by £50 million, to establish the first-ever UK-wide approach to veteran support, which will ensure easier access to essential care and support for veterans across the country.
Asked by: Sarah Hall (Labour (Co-op) - Warrington South)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his planned timeline is for bringing the Armed Forces Covenant fully into law.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
Our election manifesto committed to “strengthen support for our Armed Forces communities by putting the Armed Forces Covenant fully into law” to help improve their lives across a broad range of areas. We are now developing policy options to take this forward.