Commons Sense

House of Commons · Westminster Hall

Veterans UK

21 June 2023 · 4 other contributors · 8,538 words

Opened by Gill Furniss Lab Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough

Responding minister: Andrew Murrison

Benefits & WelfareVeterans

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

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Gill Furniss raised concerns about veterans uk in Westminster Hall. A government minister responded.

Key points

  • Speaker is concerned about poor experiences of veterans with Veterans UK, with over 75% of survey respondents rating their experience as poor or very poor.
  • Distressing comments from respondents indicate that interactions with Veterans UK have led to mental distress and in some cases suicidal thoughts.
  • Issues with the armed forces compensation scheme are highlighted, described as overly burdensome and lacking transparency.

Key requests to Government

The speaker urges the government to review and improve veterans' services thoroughly and promptly, release the LGBT veterans independent review report urgently, implement Lord Etherton's recommendations, and expedite the rollout of veteran ID cards promised by the end of 2023.

How the debate unfolded

MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said.

Opened the debate

Gill Furniss Lab Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough

The speaker is concerned about the poor experiences of veterans with Veterans UK, highlighting that over 75% of respondents to a survey rated their overall experience as either poor or very poor. The APPG on veterans' research revealed distressing comments from respondents indicating that interactions with the organisation had broken them mentally and in some cases led to suicidal thoughts. Additionally, there are issues with the armed forces compensation scheme, which is described as overly burdensome and lacking transparency by an independent reviewer. Further problems include longer waiting times for medical treatment and a significant rise in veterans relying on universal credit due to the cost of living crisis.

Other contributors (4)
  • Flick Drummond Con Brighton Kemptown

    Praised veterans for their contributions to society and highlighted issues with the digitisation of veterans' records, including delays due to lost documents. Noted that medical assessments by non-specialist clinicians are a concern and urged Veterans UK to work closely with VAPCs to streamline processes. Ms Drummond suggested using scanned documents or NHS digital records to speed up the process for obtaining medical evidence required for compensation claims.

  • Navendu Mishra Lab Stockport

    Expressed concerns about the lack of additional funding for veterans due to cost of living increases, noting that food banks are being used by some veterans and serving personnel. Highlighted issues with the armed forces covenant not being legally binding and the need for greater government support for third sector organisations helping veterans.

  • Owen Thompson SNP Midlothian

    Mr Thompson highlighted the dissatisfaction among veterans regarding Veterans UK, noting that only 6% of respondents to a survey felt they had received good service. He criticised the organisation for hindering rather than helping veterans and called for immediate improvements to support services, including addressing issues related to moral injury and mental health assessments.

  • Rachel Hopkins Lab Luton South and South Bedfordshire

    Ms Hopkins highlighted the Labour party's commitment to the armed forces community, noting their essential role in national security. She expressed concern over declining acceptance rates for veterans seeking compensation through the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme, with successful claims dropping from 65% to 47% since 2011-12. Additionally, she mentioned that more than 50,000 veterans are now relying on universal credit due to financial difficulties caused by the cost of living crisis.

Government Response

Andrew Murrison

Called out a wrong minister.

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