Widows of serving personnel who forfeited their pensions before 2015 could be eligible for a one-off payment of £87,500 as part of the Government's continued support for the armed forces, their families and veterans. The new joint initiative from the Ministry of Defence and the Treasury will address old rules in which a cohort of bereaved spouses, civil partners and eligible partners forfeited their pensions if they remarried or cohabited before 2015. Dr Andrew Murrison, Minister for Defence People, Veterans and Service Families, said: 'Our war widows have made a great sacrifice for our co ..read more

Up to £8million of funding is now available from the Office for Veterans' Affairs (OVA) to help tackle the issue of veterans' homelessness. Charities and organisations are now able to bid for up to £1.5million to provide wraparound support, with the funding helping tackle the issues faced by homeless veterans and provide accommodation. Under the new Reducing Veteran Homelessness Programme, the Armed Covenant Fund Trust awards grants on behalf of the OVA to projects providing specialist care. The funding is expected to help provide services for more than 900 housing places across the UK, pro ..read more

Challenges faced by women who leave the services are to be considered as part of the Government’s first Women Veterans’ Strategy. Due to be launched later this year by the Office for Veterans’ Affairs, the strategy will tackle areas where women veterans might be missing out on support, as well as any accessibility issues. More than 235,000 women in England and Wales have served in our Armed Forces, but women veterans reportedly face issues accessing support services, particularly where those services are inadvertently orientated towards men. The OVA will identify what further support may ..read more

A major review has been announced into the effectiveness and efficiency of welfare services for veterans. The review, announced by the Office for Veterans’ Affairs and the Ministry of Defence, will also identify any duplication or gaps in support. Support being looked at includes services such as the Veterans Welfare Service, which comes under the banner of Veterans UK. It provides one-to-one support to veterans and their families through a network of welfare managers across the UK. The Defence Transition Service, which supports military personnel as they move into civilian life, is also part ..read more

Projects across the nation have won a share of more than £5million in funding to save and enhance lives for veterans. The 22 innovative healthcare schemes will bring advancements in technologies, interventions and treatments to better meet veterans’ physical and mental health needs. Financial support has been achieved from the Veterans’ Health Innovation Fund through a competition run by the Office for Veterans’ Affairs with the Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA). Proposals submitted addressed the challenge areas of digital, data and technology, surgical technology, bioengineering a ..read more

A new dashboard showing information about the veteran community is now publicly available. The veterans data dashboard, from the Office for Veterans’ Affairs, has statistics in areas such as population, housing, mental health and employment. It will provide a snapshot to the public, veterans and service providers so they can learn about the community, as well as the services offered by the government to support veterans. This follows data released by the Office for National Statistics from the 2021 census on the veteran population. That data covers areas such as age, health, gender and ethnic ..read more

Almost a third of UK Armed Forces veterans in England and Wales are 80 years of age or older, according to census data just released. The new findings, published by the Office for National Statistics, look at factors such as age, religion and ethnicity. With regard to age, 32% of veterans were 80 or over on the day of the census in 2021, compared with 5% of the non-veteran population. A big majority (94%) of veterans in England and Wales were born in the UK, with 2% entering the world in other Commonwealth countries. In terms of religion, almost two-thirds of (64%) described themselves as Chr ..read more

Former military personnel enjoy strong public support in the UK, a study has revealed. Some 71% of employers believe veterans have a strong work ethic, while a vast majority of fellow employees say veterans are resilient individuals they are happy to work alongside, the YouGov report shows. The study, which will help shape policy initiatives, was commissioned by the Office for Veterans’ Affairs and examined perceptions of former military personnel. More than 12,000 members of the public, as well as employers, healthcare professionals and members of the media across of the UK, shared their perc ..read more

More than £8.5million of funding has been announced to ensure no veteran should sleep rough this Christmas and veteran homelessness is ended in 2023. The funding will deliver services in more than 900 housing units in England, where specialist help for veterans, including with health, education and employment needs are provided. The new money will also allow for the establishment of a new referral scheme - Op FORTITUDE, which will enable veterans at risk of homelessness to access supported housing and wraparound specialist care in health, housing and education. Working with charities, the fun ..read more

The very first UK-wide official survey for veterans and their families is now under way. For another six weeks, veterans across the country can have their say and help to shape the future of veteran services. Armed Forces Covenant logo Funded and commissioned by the Office of Veterans’ Affairs, it is the first exercise to collect feedback from the entire veterans community across the UK. The survey, in collaboration with the Office for National Statistics (ONS), asks veterans to describe their experiences of being a veteran and of using government services. The responses will help the Gove ..read more