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Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Veterans and People

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For the minister in Scotland, see Minister for Veterans (Scotland).
United Kingdom
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Veterans and People
Royal Arms of His Majesty's Government
since 8 July 2024
Ministry of Defence
StyleVeterans Minister
(informal)
TypeMinister of the Crown
StatusParliamentary Under-Secretary of State
Reports toPrime Minister of the United Kingdom
SeatWestminster
NominatorPrime Minister
AppointerThe Monarch
(on the advice of the Prime Minister)
Term lengthAt His Majesty's pleasure
Formation
  • July 1989:
    (as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence)
  • July 2022:
    (as Minister of State for Veterans' Affairs)
  • July 2024:
    (as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Veterans)
First holderEarl of Arran
(as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence)
WebsiteOfficial website

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 Alistair Carns. From 2022 to 2024, the role was Minister of State for Veterans' Affairs in Cabinet Office and the minister attended the Cabinet.[1]

History

[edit]

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.[citation needed]

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.[2] 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.[3][4] 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.[5][6]

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".[7]

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.[8][9]

Responsibilities

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The minister has the following ministerial responsibilities:[10]

  • 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

List of ministers

[edit]
Name Portrait Entered office Left office Political party Prime Minister
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence
The Earl of Arran 25 July 1989 26 July 1990 Conservative Margaret Thatcher
Kenneth Carlisle October 1990 March 1992 Conservative John Major
The Earl of Arran 28 November 1990 15 April 1992 Conservative John Major
Viscount Cranborne 22 April 1992 20 July 1994 Conservative John Major
The Lord Henley 20 July 1994 5 July 1995 Conservative John Major
The Earl Howe 5 July 1995 2 May 1997 Conservative John Major
John Spellar 6 May 1997 28 July 1999 Labour Tony Blair
Peter Kilfoyle 28 July 1999 30 January 2000 Labour Tony Blair
Lewis Moonie 31 January 2001 13 June 2003 Labour Tony Blair
Ivor Caplin 13 June 2003 11 May 2005 Labour Tony Blair
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Veterans
Don Touhig 11 May 2005 5 May 2006 Labour Tony Blair
Tom Watson 5 May 2006 6 September 2006 Labour Tony Blair
Derek Twigg 6 September 2006 5 October 2008 Labour
Kevan Jones 5 October 2008 11 May 2010 Labour Gordon Brown
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Welfare and Veterans
Andrew Robathan 13 May 2010 4 September 2012 Conservative David Cameron
Minister of State for Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans
Mark Francois 4 September 2012 7 October 2013 Conservative David Cameron
Anna Soubry 7 October 2013 11 May 2015 Conservative David Cameron
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence Veterans, Reserves and Personnel
Mark Lancaster 12 May 2015 13 June 2017 Conservative
Tobias Ellwood 14 June 2017 26 July 2019 Conservative Theresa May
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence People and Veterans
Johnny Mercer 28 July 2019 20 April 2021 Conservative Boris Johnson
Leo Docherty 20 April 2021 7 July 2022 Conservative Boris Johnson
Minister of State for Veterans' Affairs
Johnny Mercer 7 July 2022 6 September 2022[11] Conservative Boris Johnson
25 October 2022 5 July 2024 Rishi Sunak
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Veterans and People
Alistair Carns 9 July 2024 Incumbent Labour Keir Starmer

References

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  1. ^ "Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister for Defence People and Veterans)". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 2022-07-16.
  2. ^ "Johnny Mercer: Sacked minister attacks 'distrustful' government". BBC News. 2021-04-21. Retrieved 2021-04-21.
  3. ^ "Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill - Parliamentary Bills - UK Parliament". bills.parliament.uk. Retrieved 2021-04-21.
  4. ^ Johnny Mercer [@JohnnyMercerUK] (April 20, 2021). "I'm sorry to have been relieved of my responsibilities in Government tonight" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  5. ^ "Johnny Mercer: Tory MP resigns as defence minister". BBC News. 20 April 2021. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
  6. ^ "Defence minister Johnny Mercer resigns from government". The Guardian. 20 April 2021. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
  7. ^ Sheridan, Danielle (July 7, 2024). "Starmer criticised for failure to appoint veterans minister". The Telegraph. Retrieved July 8, 2024 – via MSN.
  8. ^ Zeffman, Henry. "Starmer makes five new Labour MPs ministers - instantly". BBC News. Retrieved 2024-07-09.
  9. ^ "Ministerial Appointments: July 2024". GOV.UK. Prime Minister's Office, 10 Downing Street. Retrieved 18 July 2024. Alistair Carns MP as a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Ministry of Defence (Minister for Veterans)
  10. ^ "Minister of State (Minister for Veterans' Affairs)". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 2022-07-16.
  11. ^ "Johnny Mercer twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 2022-09-06.
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