Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many veteran ID cards have been issued by his Department as of 24 January 2022.

Since December 2018, there have been 43,913 HM Armed Forces Veterans’ Recognition Cards issued to service leavers as part of phase one. Phase two will see the Cards made available to existing veterans. A forecast of the size of the veteran population is available at the following link:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/769727/20190107_Background_Quality_Report_-_Population_Projections_-_UK_Armed_Forces_Veterans_residing_in_Great_Britain_-_2016_to_2028.pdf

No estimate has been made as to how many of those are likely to apply for a Card.