It has been announced by the Office for Veterans’ Affairs (OVA), that England is set to get a Veteran’s Commissioner, following a successful campaign by the Royal British Legion.
In recent years, the armed forces community of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have all had a Veterans’ Commissioner, leaving England as the only nation in the UK without somebody dedicated to listening to and advocating for the Armed Forces community.
In November 2023, the RBL launched a petition to address this inequality. After around 1,400 signatures, the petition was delivered to the Office for Veterans’ Affairs in December.
The RBL is delighted to hear that the OVA have listened to those voices and will be appointing a “National Veterans’ Commissioner” who will “cover England and any veterans’ matters which are reserved to the UK Government and are not in the remit of the devolved administrations.
Angela Kitching, Director of Campaigns, Policy and Research of the Royal British Legion said: “The RBL believes that the Veterans’ Commissioners in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland play a key public role as an independent advocate and voice for the Armed Forces community in those nations. We are delighted that the Armed Forces community in England will now have that same advocate.
“We look forward to working with the new commissioner to ensure that the Armed Forces community in England, and across the whole UK, is receiving the support they need. I am grateful to all the RBL supporters who joined this campaign and helped make it a reality. Your voices have helped us make a real difference to the lives of veterans and their families.”