How we can prevent veterans requiring support falling through the cracks - Alistair Carns

I don’t want this to obscure the fact that most veterans leave service with excellent skills; and go on to build successful careers and do amazing things in their local communities.

But having served on many tours over a 24-year career, including five tours of Afghanistan, I also know people who’ve struggled to navigate civvy street. In my first year as Minister for Veterans and People, I have travelled all over the UK seeing the incredible range of work being done to support veterans.

Here in Yorkshire, the Defence Secretary John Healey and I recently took questions from local RBL members as well as Help 4 Homeless staff in Dinnington, Sheffield, to understand the local needs of veterans.

Support exists where good people have decided to do good things; successive governments have been willing for the charitable sector to take a lead.

This has left a patchwork of support and too many veterans have been falling through the cracks.

We have designed VALOUR to fix that problem and harness the enterprising spirit of these charities. And we are piloting it here in Yorkshire as well as Liverpool and Greater Manchester, to build a blueprint for our nationwide roll out. It has three main components.

First, we will compile a comprehensive picture of veterans' needs and services across the country, and we will use this data to drive policy and service design.

We need this data to make sure we understand how and where best to support our veterans

Second, we will construct a network of VALOUR regional field officers to bring best practice and greater coordination to veterans' services provided by councils, public bodies and the third sector.

Third, we will establish a network of VALOUR-recognised support centres across the UK.

These will bring together veterans’ services from housing and health to employment and welfare, all under one roof.

This isn't just another veterans’ initiative. This is the first time that the government has put in place a structure to support veterans.

This is about fundamentally rewiring the support they receive, with a view to expanding it to the wider Armed Forces community.

So that all veterans can continue to play a pivotal role in our society and economy, as part of our government’s Plan for Change.

Like all the fantastic people busily working to support veterans in Yorkshire and beyond, this government believes that those who’ve stepped forward to sacrifice so much to keep us safe, should never be disadvantaged by their service to our country.

They had our backs. Through VALOUR, we will have theirs.

Alistair Carns OBE is the Minister of State for Veterans and People.