Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what support his Department provides to veterans that are waiting for pension decisions during the covid-19 outbreak.

The Veterans UK website has been recently updated to make it easier and clearer for claimants to seek the help and assistance they require. Welfare Managers continue to provide advice, information and support to their respective client groups, in response to contact and referrals, utilising telephone calls, emails and Skype. Face-to-face visits are organised only where it is absolutely necessary to do so. Welfare Managers are proactively keeping in touch with known vulnerable veterans to offer support and reassurance and are working closely with local and national business partners in the 3rd sector and statutory providers of services, to ensure those in need of additional support are linked into services that they may require.

Where terminally ill veterans or those suffering particular hardship are identified, Veterans UK has in place a small team which is able to safely access the office to take action on urgent cases where the case evidence needed to do so is available.

In addition, the Veterans' Gateway, a 24-hour point of contact for veterans' support, launched a new app enabling any ex-Service personnel in need of support to get help using a smartphone or tablet. The new app, funded by the Ministry of Defence and the Armed Forces Covenant Trust Fund, helps veterans find organisations within their local area to help with issues such as finances, housing, employment, relationship, physical and mental health. The directory, which is intuitive and easy to use, groups all NHS facilities across the country, and over 2,000 charitable organisations, allowing veterans and their families to access local support quickly and easily.