The minister of state for veterans' affairs is a ministerial position in the
Cabinet Office in the British government, currently held by
Johnny Mercer who took the office on 25 October 2022. Earlier, it was jointly with the
Ministry of Defence. The officeholder has attended
cabinet
Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to:
Furniture
* Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers
* Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets
* Filing ...
since 7 July 2022.
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
Tobias Martin Ellwood (born 12 August 1966) is a British Conservative Party politician and soldier who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bournemouth East since 2005. He has chaired the Defence Select Committee since 2020 and was a Go ...
.
Johnny Mercer was appointed minister in July 2019 to the new
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
by incoming
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
Boris Johnson
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...
. 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
isresponsibilities 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.
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
Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. Mental hea ...
*
Defence Medical Services
The Defence Medical Services (DMS) is an umbrella organisation within the Ministry of Defence in the United Kingdom. It consists of the Defence Medical Services Group, part of Strategic Command, the Royal Navy Medical Service, Army Medical Servic ...
*the people programme (Flexible Engagement Strategy, Future Accommodation Model and Enterprise Approach)
*estates service family accommodation policy and engagement with welfare
List of ministers
References
{{Cabinet Office