Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will have discussions with local authorities on introducing veteran-awareness training for local authority social care teams.

There are no immediate plans to implement specific training for local authority social care teams. Instead, the Principal Social Work Network for Adults across England meet on a regular basis to review all aspects of social work practice and training, underpinned by statutory and policy guidance, which includes the needs of the veteran community. This national network comprises of representatives from all settings including local authorities, National Health Service bodies, the voluntary sector, and Ministry of Defence organisations, and shares an undertaking to develop the competence of the workforce to meet the needs of all vulnerable groups, including veterans and their families and carers.

The Government has an ambition to make the United Kingdom the best place in the world to be a veteran by 2028. Veterans are entitled to the same social care and support as the civilian population in England.