Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many veterans ID cards have been distributed in each region.

The Armed Forces Veteran Card Scheme has had a two-phase rollout. Phase One is complete; all Service leavers since December 2018 automatically receive an HM Forces Veteran Card from Ministry of Defence as part of their discharge process. The attached table shows the total number of Phase One cards distributed in each region.

A regional breakdown is not currently available for phase two which extends access to the HM Armed Forces Veteran Card to those who left before December 2018. The new digital application and verification service launched at 00:01 on 28 January 2024 allowing pre-2018 Veterans to apply for the card.  As of Thursday 8 February 2024 a total of 28,882 cards had been dispatched in the Phase 2 roll out. An update to the case management system will provide a regional breakdown on a monthly basis from March 2024.