The Government has announced a new Veterans’ Strategy which will see veteran support centres being rolled out across the country.
It is hoped the new strategy will transform government support for veterans and recognise their invaluable contribution to the UK, with new centres improving access to support services such as health, housing, and employment, and may extend to finance, wellbeing, welfare, and integration into society.
Mark Atkinson, Director General of the Royal British Legion, said:
“The RBL welcomes the Government’s Veterans’ Strategy and its calls to celebrate, support and recognise the significant contribution of veterans. RBL supports the whole Armed Forces Community – serving personnel, veterans, their families and the bereaved - so we are delighted to see that families are included in several priority outcomes.
“We are pleased with the strategy’s further commitment to VALOUR, which we hope will improve coordination of support and deliver impact for veterans and the wider Armed Forces community, and we welcome the introduction of the Women’s Veteran forum.
“The RBL now looks forward to working with the Office for Veterans Affairs to ensure the strategy meets the future needs of our Armed Forces community. We note the Government’s commitment to introduce legislation in the coming weeks to bring the Armed Forces Covenant fully into law across all departments to compel decision-makers to take the needs of the Armed Forces community into account. We are eager to see how this significant commitment will support delivery of the Veterans’ Strategy and wider benefit to the community.”