The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Veterans and People is a ministerial position in the Ministry of Defence in British government, currently held by Calvin Bailey. From 2022 to 2024, the role was Minister of State for Veterans' Affairs in Cabinet Office and the minister attended the Cabinet.
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History
It was formerly known as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence from 1989 to 2005 and as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence Veterans, Reserves and Personnel under Tobias Ellwood.
Johnny Mercer was appointed minister in July 2019 to the new government by incoming Prime Minister Boris Johnson. On 20 April 2021, Mercer was "sacked by text" after offering to resign at the end of Wednesday 21 April, but refusing to go earlier. In a tweet, Mercer said he was "relieved of [his] responsibilities in Government" because of his disagreements with the scope of the proposed Overseas Operations Bill. This new government law is designed to protect veterans from unfounded prosecutions. However, Mercer said it was a "red line" for him that British soldiers who served in Northern Ireland are excluded.
On 7 July 2024, after the 2024 United Kingdom General Election Mercer criticised Sir Keir Starmer’s new Labour government for failing to appoint a new Minister of State for Veterans' Affairs at the same time as the rest of his cabinet. He said; "You will note already that, despite his explicit personal promises in the election campaign, Keir Starmer has not appointed a veterans minister to his cabinet", adding, "If you understand what veterans need from their Government, this matters very much".
Alistair Carns was appointed Minister for Veterans on 9 July 2024; the position is now that of a parliamentary under-secretary of state, the most junior level of minister.
Responsibilities
The minister has the following ministerial responsibilities:
Civilian and service personnel policy
Armed forces pay, pensions and compensation
Armed Forces Covenant
Welfare and service families
Community engagement
Equality, diversity and inclusion
Veterans (including resettlement, transition, defence charities and Ministerial Covenant and Veterans Board, and Office of Veteran Affairs)
Legacy issues and non-operational public inquiries and inquests
Mental health
Defence Medical Services
The people programme (Flexible Engagement Strategy, Future Accommodation Model and Enterprise Approach)
Estates service family accommodation policy and engagement with welfare