Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure more GP practices join the veteran friendly GP accreditation programme.

NHS England, in partnership with the Royal College of General Practitioners, is continuing to encourage general practices (GPs) to participate in the Armed Forces Veteran Friendly GP accreditation scheme. This voluntary initiative is available to GPs across England and is free to access. To date, over 99% of primary care networks have at least one accredited GP in their area.

100% of National Health Service trusts and foundation trusts in England are now officially accredited as Veteran Aware. This achievement, led by the Veterans Covenant Healthcare Alliance, reflects a national commitment to provide compassionate, personalised care to serving personnel, reservists, veterans, and their families.

In addition, the Department announced the National Training and Education Programme which will see NHS staff across England receiving dedicated training to help them identify and support patients with military backgrounds.