Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Veterans Services

Thursday 7 September 2023 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Andrew Gwynne inquired about steps being taken to improve veteran services.
  • The Government announced an additional 33 million to support veterans and their families.
  • The Minister stated that the independent review of veteran welfare services will report by the end of September or early October.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Andrew Gwynne Ind Gorton and Denton
Veterans
Context

The question pertains to the need for government services to better support veterans and their families.

Question

What steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help ensure that services provided by the Government meet the needs of veterans and their families.

Answer from Johnny Mercer

This Government are delivering on their commitments within the veterans' strategy action plan to support veterans and their families. Our plan, which is backed by an additional £33 million announced by the Chancellor in this year's Budget, contains commitments across Government, including support for health provision, housing and employment, the majority of which have been delivered or are on track.

Answered
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Q2 Andrew Gwynne Ind Gorton and Denton
Veterans
Context

The independent review of the UK Government welfare services for veterans found issues such as poor communication, lack of cohesion, and strategic direction.

Question

That is great and we all support those measures, but he will also know that the independent review of the UK Government welfare services for veterans found that the current system is “overly complex” and suffers from a lack of cohesion, of strategic direction and single oversight. It also found that veterans regularly receive poor communication from Government and were left overwhelmed by the system. Does the Minister accept responsibility for those failings and what is he doing to fix them?

Answer from Johnny Mercer

I initiated that review when I first came back into office under this Prime Minister. That review has now completed. It was due to report before Christmas, but I have pulled that forward and I want to see a response from Government to the review by the end of September or the beginning of October. The review highlights changes that have been overdue for some time and I look forward to having more to say to the hon Gentleman on that matter when the response comes back.

Partly answered

Not addressed: does not commit to specific actions beyond a timeline for government response

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