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Written Question
Office for Veterans' Affairs: Standards
Wednesday 27th March 2024

Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the policy paper entitled Veterans’ Strategy Action Plan: 2022 to 2024, what metrics the Office for Veterans’ Affairs uses to assess the effectiveness of the (a) implementation and (b) impact of commitments that (i) it is responsible for and (ii) other Departments lead on; and what steps the Office for Veterans’ Affairs takes to help ensure that those metrics are met.

Answered by Johnny Mercer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Minister for Veterans' Affairs)

The Office for Veterans' Affairs works with partners across and beyond government to monitor the effectiveness and impact of the commitments outlined in the Veterans' Strategy Action Plan.

Since the publication of the Action Plan in 2022, the Government has published four updates on progress; two six monthly reports in August 2022 and August 2023, and two updates within the Armed Forces Covenant and Veterans Annual Report laid before parliament in December 2022 and December 2023.

The most recent report highlighted notable achievements against the Action Plan and 2018 Strategy for our Veterans, outlining where commitments have been delivered and where more work is needed to deliver on our government’s ambition to make the UK the best place to be a veteran. The Office for Veterans' Affairs engages with its partners regularly to ensure the commitments in the action plan are delivered, with updates on progress provided to the Veterans Advisory Board and departments across government.


Written Question
Armed Forces: Labour Turnover and Recruitment
Wednesday 27th March 2024

Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make a comparative assessment of the adequacy of recruitment and retention strategies for armed forces personnel in (a) the UK and (B) other NATO countries.

Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 19 January 2024 to Question 9841 to the hon. Member for Barnsley Central (Dan Jarvis).


Written Question
Armed Forces: Housing
Wednesday 27th March 2024

Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich (Bishops - Bishops)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government what consultation they undertook with service personnel and their families regarding the Modernised Accommodation Offer for the armed forces.

Answered by Earl of Minto - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Modernised Accommodation Offer built on extensive consultation from the Future Accommodation Model as well as further research as the policy was finalised. As part of the current review, we will be undertaking further consultations with Service personnel and families.


Written Question
Armed Forces: Labour Turnover and Recruitment
Wednesday 27th March 2024

Asked by: Gen Kitchen (Labour - Wellingborough)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to increase levels of armed forces recruitment and retention.

Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 19 January 2024 to Question 9841 to the hon. Member for Barnsley Central (Dan Jarvis).


Written Question
Armed Forces: Pensions
Tuesday 26th March 2024

Asked by: Lord Touhig (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government in what format Armed Forces personnel receive advice about their pensions when they leave the services.

Answered by Earl of Minto - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The single Services provide holistic support to their respective leavers and signpost to the services available to them. Although individual units may have their own bespoke processes, the Tri Service Resettlement policy (JSP 534) available at the link below explains the minimum level of support.

www.gov.uk/government/publications/tri-service-resettlement-manual-jsp-534

All Service leavers are given the opportunity to attend a Financial Aspects of Resettlement Brief by the Forces Pension Society. Briefs can be attended at any point in a Service person's career, however priority is given to Service leavers with nine months or less to discharge. Briefings are tailored, where numbers permit, to different rank groups, and spouses are welcome to attend.

All Service leavers are issued a Service Leavers' Guide designed to provide help and advise on a range of topics to assist with planning the transition to civilian life, and contains pension information and signposting. This was last reviewed in September 2023 and can be found at the following link:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/651c1168e4e658000d59d888/Service_Leavers_Guide_-_Sep_23.pdf

On discharge, Service leavers also receive a letter from the Joint Personnel Administration Centre (JPAC) detailing their pension entitlement and when this will be paid.

Further information and guidance relating to the Armed Forces Pension Scheme (AFPS) is readily available on gov.uk at the following link:

www.gov.uk/guidance/pensions-and-compensation-for-veterans

The Armed Forces Pension Calculator can be accessed at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/armed-forces-pension-calculator


Written Question
Veterans: Identity Cards
Tuesday 26th March 2024

Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 14 March 2024, to Question 17492 on Veterans: Identity Cards, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of assessing the effectiveness of the advertising of the veterans’ ID cards application service.

Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

The HM Armed Forces Veteran Card Scheme has had a two-phase rollout. Phase 1 is complete; all Service leavers since December 2018 automatically receive a Veteran Card from Ministry of Defence (MOD) as part of their Service Leaver Pack.

Phase 2 extends access to the 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 18 March 2024, there have been a total of 90,381 Phase 2 applications received, and 71,752 cards issued. During March 2024, 12,907 applications have been received and 9,807 posted.

Extensive communications have been issued by both MOD and the Office for Veterans' Affairs in relation to the application service. This included significant social media activity, bespoke videos, a GOV.UK news article and an article in the Sunday Express. Applications have also now opened for veterans in prison as part of the rehabilitation process. MOD has partnered with the Ministry of Justice to communicate availability of the cards to every prison in the UK.


Written Question
Veterans: Identity Cards
Tuesday 26th March 2024

Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 14 March 2024, to Question 17492 on Veterans: Identity Cards, what progress his Department has made on reaching this month's production target for veterans' ID cards.

Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

The HM Armed Forces Veteran Card Scheme has had a two-phase rollout. Phase 1 is complete; all Service leavers since December 2018 automatically receive a Veteran Card from Ministry of Defence (MOD) as part of their Service Leaver Pack.

Phase 2 extends access to the 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 18 March 2024, there have been a total of 90,381 Phase 2 applications received, and 71,752 cards issued. During March 2024, 12,907 applications have been received and 9,807 posted.

Extensive communications have been issued by both MOD and the Office for Veterans' Affairs in relation to the application service. This included significant social media activity, bespoke videos, a GOV.UK news article and an article in the Sunday Express. Applications have also now opened for veterans in prison as part of the rehabilitation process. MOD has partnered with the Ministry of Justice to communicate availability of the cards to every prison in the UK.


Written Question
Universal Credit: Armed Forces
Tuesday 26th March 2024

Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the answer of 13 March 2024, to Question 16599 on Universal Credit: Armed Forces, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of verifying the self-reported armed forces status of universal credit claimants.

Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department has no plans to change the self-reported armed forces status for universal credit claimants. Our general approach is to trust the information provided to us by individuals and it is unclear what benefits checking this information would bring, particularly as it may place additional burdens on the claimants and departments concerned.


Written Question
Armed Forces: Recruitment
Tuesday 26th March 2024

Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people were recruited into the full time (a) Army, (b) Royal Navy and (c) Royal Air Force by (i) parliamentary constituency and (ii) region in each year since 2010.

Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

Official Statistics on intake to the Regular Forces by Parliamentary Constituency and region are included in the Ministry of Defence’s (MOD) Annual Location Statistics (ALS). The same information on Reserves is not collected or published by the MOD, and producing these figures would incur disproportionate cost.

The latest edition (1 April 2023) of the ALS can be found at the following website, noting that the relevant Tables are 7.1, 7.2 and 7.3: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/location-statistics-for-uk-regular-armed-forces-and-civilians-2023. Figures included in the ALS extend from the 12 months ending 31 March 2015 to the 12 months ending 31 March 2022, and are split by Service. Earlier figures are not available, except for 2013-14 for the Army, which were provided on 19 April 2021 in the answer to Question 180391.

The next edition of the ALS (1 April 2024) will cover the 12 months ending 31 March 2023 and 2024 and is expected to be published in June.


Written Question
Reserve Forces: Recruitment
Tuesday 26th March 2024

Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people were recruited into the (a) Army Reserves, (b) Maritime Reserves and (c) RAF Reserves by (i) constituency and (ii) region in each year since 2010.

Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

Official Statistics on intake to the Regular Forces by Parliamentary Constituency and region are included in the Ministry of Defence’s (MOD) Annual Location Statistics (ALS). The same information on Reserves is not collected or published by the MOD, and producing these figures would incur disproportionate cost.

The latest edition (1 April 2023) of the ALS can be found at the following website, noting that the relevant Tables are 7.1, 7.2 and 7.3: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/location-statistics-for-uk-regular-armed-forces-and-civilians-2023. Figures included in the ALS extend from the 12 months ending 31 March 2015 to the 12 months ending 31 March 2022, and are split by Service. Earlier figures are not available, except for 2013-14 for the Army, which were provided on 19 April 2021 in the answer to Question 180391.

The next edition of the ALS (1 April 2024) will cover the 12 months ending 31 March 2023 and 2024 and is expected to be published in June.