Produced jointly between the UK, Scottish and Welsh Governments, and including the Northern Ireland Office, the
Strategy for our Veterans
outlines a new vision and principles to support those who served, as well as their families.

The strategy identifies six key areas where support is most needed over the next ten years: community and relationships, employment and skills, health and wellbeing, finance and debt, housing, and contact with the law.

It assesses the barriers and opportunities in these areas to providing support to each veteran, including improved collaboration between organisations, better co-ordination of services and more robust data on the veteran community.

It is published alongside a UK Government consultation paper that seeks views on how best to champion and deliver the needs of the ex-service community. It will inform how the strategy could be implemented across the UK, except for devolved matters in Scotland and Wales. The Scottish and Welsh Governments will engage separately on devolved issues such as housing and healthcare.

Secretary of State for Scotland David Mundell said:

At a time of year when people of the UK have united to commemorate the end of World War One it is fitting that all four nations are working together to ensure our military veterans – many of who are from Scotland – are properly looked after.

This strategy is an important step towards making sure that the men and women who’ve selflessly served the UK and put their lives on the line for us have the best possible quality of life for them and their families.

Veterans Minister, Scotland, Graeme Dey said:

This UK-wide strategy for our veterans recognises our commitment to supporting our large and diverse veterans community, and making sure those leaving our Armed Forces receive the services and support they need to readjust to civilian life.

The strategy will help us build on the support already available to the veterans community in Scotland, across key areas like housing, healthcare and employment. We will consult with organisations across the public, private and third sectors, and with the Scottish Veterans Commissioner, over the coming months to help shape how we respond to veterans’ changing needs.

As part of the package of support for veterans, the Veterans’ Gateway’s 24/7 helpline will trial a new outreach service where it will proactively call those who have served, to check in on their wellbeing and remind them of where support can be found.

As a first step in better understanding the profiles and needs of veterans, a new question is being considered for addition to the 2021 Census in England, Wales and Scotland, that will allow ex-service personnel to declare their service. The move will help authorities develop a better understanding of where veterans live and work so the right level of support can be provided.

In September 2018 the National Records of Scotland set out the plans for the census in 2021, which included a new question on veterans to provide robust statistics on the size, location and profile of the veterans community in Scotland. The final decision on the content of Scotland’s Census 2021 questionnaire will be made by the Scottish Parliament.

The UK Government has also committed to understanding and improving how veterans are viewed by society. New research by YouGov, commissioned by the MOD and the Forces in Mind Trust , shows that while the public believes those who have served embody many positive characteristics – such as loyalty and self-discipline – common misconceptions that military veterans are more likely to be institutionalised or suffer from mental health issues remain.

51 businesses were last night honoured for their commitment to the military, including employing former service personnel, their families and reservists.

The MOD’s Employer Recognition Scheme ‘Gold Awards’ awards were handed out by the Defence Secretary and HRH Prince Edward, the Earl of Wessex, to businesses and organisations who have shown outstanding support for the military community and the Armed Forces Covenant.

Employers won awards for initiatives such as employing veterans, supporting individuals transitioning out of the armed forces into a new career, and providing flexibility for reservists.

The 51 winners have been recognised for their long-term commitment to the armed forces, with organisations from the public and private sector achieving the top grade. Each has signed the Armed Forces Covenant, and where possible, engages with the MOD’s Career Transition Partnership (CTP) to promote the recruitment of service leavers, as well as honouring individual pledges of support.

Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said:

Those who have served our country so courageously deserve the full support of organisations across the public and private sector.

The breadth and diversity of this year’s Gold Award winners shows how business support for the armed forces continues to flourish. I offer my gratitude and congratulations to all the winners.

Minister for Defence People and Veterans Tobias Ellwood said:

When people leave the armed forces, they do so with unique skills and experiences that can benefit businesses and organisations across the country.

These awards show just how valued and in demand these skills are. I encourage more businesses to sign up to the Armed Forces Covenant and show their support for our brave service leavers.

This week the Government will launch its first UK wide Veterans Strategy which brings together aspirations and commitments from across government for championing the needs of the ex-service community.

The Government has a wide range of schemes in place to support service personnel and veterans. From encouraging employers to recognise the value the military community to business through the Armed Forces Covenant to committing £22million of funding for mental health over the next decade for service personnel and £10million for veterans.

The winners provided innovative solutions to key strategic future demands for UK defence in autonomy and big data. The companies and their ground-breaking technologies will receive combined investment and support worth over £4 million from the MOD and £6 million from industry partners to see their full development.

The winning solutions announced at the Institute of Engineering and Technology today are:

• Close Air Solutions with Project Hyper Real Immersion
• QinetiQ’s Software Defined Multifunction LIDAR
• Horiba Mira’s UGV Localisation and Perception using Deep Learning Neural Networks
• Polaris’ Ants on Deck

Defence Minister Stuart Andrew said:

From shrewd navigation software, A.I. driven autonomous vehicles, laser radar to mixed reality training systems, today’s winners are a clear demonstration of industry rising to meet the complex challenges of modern warfare. The MOD, working with commercial partners, will see these pioneering technologies go from the drawing board to the battlefield.

Training is at the core of military capabilities and Project Hyper Real Immersion is designed to provide cutting-edge realistic air combat training. This revolutionary technology from Close Air Solutions aims to enable fully networked live training exercises with NATO and Coalition partners. This will reduce costs and increase safety for service personnel.

QinetiQ’s Software Defined Multifunction LIDAR (laser radar) system will provide a range of high-tech capabilities including 3D imaging, optical communication and covert targeting. Conventional 3D mapping can discover a vehicle under camouflage netting but LIDAR could also determine whether the engine is on and the type of vehicle using vibration sensors. The system could be adopted onto small satellites and unmanned and manned platforms

Horiba Mira is developing a super-intelligent navigation system which uses Artificial Intelligence algorithms to identify landmarks around a military vehicle to provide a greater situational awareness. This technology will be key in developing the effective operation of unmanned autonomous vehicles in dangerous areas which will remove soldiers from dangerous situations and task them to more valuable roles. This is a crucial aim of the Last Mile logistics that UK armed forces are developing.

Continuing with the autonomy theme, Polaris are developing a pioneering software system that autonomously generates the best routes for Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USVs). AntsOnDeck increases fuel efficiency which allows extended operations, provides real-time awareness of conditions and environment and can be extended to platforms across the air, land and sea domains.

Co-chair of the Defence Growth Partnership, Allan Cook CBE, said:

The innovative solutions developed by our own defence companies over the course of the Innovation Challenge is amazing. Using autonomy and big data these winning companies have found unique solutions to the ongoing challenges we face in the defence sector.

The winners of the DGP’s Innovation Challenge Final Phase have proven that their products are fundamentally important to the growth and prosperity of their companies. This final funding for the winners will enable them to complete their development and ultimately provide essential solutions in a dynamic, international and competitive market. Their success will benefit the defence sector in the UK and help us win more business in export markets.

The Defence and Security Accelerator, in tandem with the Defence Solutions Centre, established the competition in 2012 to explore and develop solutions to ensure the UK armed forces stay ahead of adversaries by finding more efficient methods of communication, logistics, protection, intelligence and training. The initial investment of £10 million for the competition has been matched pound for pound with industry partners and since then, the competition has received an additional £4 million. This is part of the wider £800 million Defence Innovation Fund.

Today’s event brought together leading industry and military figures from the defence equipment community. This joint approach aims to create high quality UK jobs, boost defence exports and encourage collaboration between large industry, SMEs and academia.