Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many veterans have been identified by his Department as at risk of homelessness since 11 October 2025.

This Government remains resolute in our commitment to provide housing support to veterans who need it.

There are a number of measures and metrics used to capture veteran homelessness; however, it is important to note that none of these will capture every single case and with the transient nature of homelessness, the overall picture of veteran homelessness and rough sleeping is not complete.

However, the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government does capture and report the number of households presenting to Local Authorities who are either experiencing or at risk of homelessness. The most recent annual data release is for 2023-24 and shows that there were 2,270 veteran households at risk of or experiencing homelessness in England. This is 0.7% of all households in England and is steady with the previous year.

The Ministry of Defence operates the Veterans Welfare Service (VWS), a free service to assist veterans and their families across a wide range of issues. During October 2025, VWS records have identified two instances where homelessness has been captured on an individual’s file as they transition from serving to veteran. Both individuals have been assigned a MOD Veterans Services Case Manager and are being supported.

As the Minister for Veterans and People, I attend the Inter-Ministerial Group on Homelessness and Rough Sleeping which brings together ministers from across Government to drive progress on the development of a cross-government strategy to get back on track to ending homelessness. This group is designed to ensure we are working across government, and in partnership with Local Authorities and Mayors, to tackle the root causes of homelessness.