Chancellor announces £10m investment in veterans’ mental health

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has announced in the Autumn Statement a £10 million funding package to support veterans’ mental health services, through the Veterans’ Places, Pathways and People programme (VPPP).

The VPPP provides grants for the sustainable provision of places of safety for veterans to go to in their local communities, as well as support veterans to access mental health support and treatment pathways that meet their needs. The VPPP also ensures that those who support veterans can access good quality training and have better access to connect veterans with support services.

Combat Stress is the VPPP strategic lead for mental health. In our role we work with organisations that support the Armed Forces communities across the UK to help them better assist veterans with mental health needs.

Our CEO Jeff Harrison said: “We welcome the government’s announcement of a £10 million investment in the Veterans’ Places, Pathways and People (VPPP) programme.

“Veterans can face a number of challenges in accessing the right support for their needs. We continue to work with our partners across the UK, the Office for Veterans’ Affairs and the NHS, which have helped to improve the process for veterans, but there is still more to do. As the mental health strategic lead for VPPP we share our expertise and training to more than 100 regional projects to increase mental health knowledge, practical skills, and joined up working, for the benefit of veterans nationally.”

Jeremy Hunt also announced that the Government will extend for another year the National Insurance contributions relief scheme for employers who take on eligible veterans.