Written questions by Hayes.

If her Department will bring forward the implementation of the five per cent increase in tax relief for UK visual effects in film and high-end TV, with UK visual effects costs exempt from the 80 per cent cap on qualifying expenditure, announced in the Spring Budget 2024, from 1 April 2025 to 1 January 2025.

Qualifying visual effects costs in film and TV are already eligible for the Audio-Visual Expenditure Credit, which provides a tax credit worth 34% of a film or TV company’s production costs. The previous Government announced that from 1 April 2025, UK visual effects costs in film and high-end TV will receive a 5% increase in Audio-Visual Expenditure Credit (AVEC). The previous Government also announced that the AVEC’s 80% cap on costs that may receive tax relief will be removed for UK visual effects costs. The policy has not been legislated. The Government will provide an update as soon as it is able to do so.

Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to increase the competitiveness of the United Kingdom's (a) visual effects and (b) animation industry.

The government is committed to supporting the UK’s visual effects and Animation industries, ensuring that they are able to remain competitive and with international reach. We will continue to focus on maintaining a strong and globally competitive sector by keeping tax incentives modern, agile and attractive; investing in infrastructure; supporting innovation; working with industry on skills development; and promoting independent content.The audio-visual tax reliefs - administered by the BFI - play a key role in boosting competitiveness, incentivising the production of culturally British content, and contributing to the industry’s - and the nation’s - economic growth.

If his Department will take steps to increase the number of neighbourhood health services staffed by people with lived experience of homelessness.

The Department recognises the importance of reducing barriers to services for those experiencing rough sleeping. This is why we supported the development of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) guidance, which provides recommendations on ways to improve access to, and engagement with, health and social care services for people experiencing homelessness. This guidance is available at the following link:https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng214NHS England has delivered the Inclusion Health Framework, which includes focus on the homeless population. Inclusion health is an umbrella term which includes homeless people, and is used to describe people who are socially excluded, and who typically experience multiple interacting risk factors for poor health such as stigma, discrimination, poverty, violence, and complex trauma. The framework supports regions and systems to review, plan, and improve health services for people in inclusion health groups, and is available at the following link:https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/NG214NHS England is also delivering the Innovation for Healthcare Inequalities programme which has provided learning around effective new ways of improving equitable access to the latest health technologies and medicines, as well as being a springboard for further work at a system level in tackling healthcare inequalities. Further information is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/aac/what-we-do/innovation-for-healthcare-inequalities-programme/We know that patients are struggling to access general practice (GP), especially those belonging to health inclusion groups. We are committed to fixing the front door to the National Health Service and ensuring that patients receive the care they deserve. The Government will bring back the family doctor, incentivising continuity of care so patients can see the same doctor at each appointment, which is key in improving complex and ongoing conditions. We will also introduce Neighborhood Health Centres to bring together vital health and care services, ensuring healthcare is closer to home.The Introduction to inclusion health e-learning course is available to help NHS staff understand what inclusion health is, the factors that cause exclusion, and the practical actions that GPs can take to improve care for these patients. Further information is available at the following link:https://elearning.rcgp.org.uk/course/view.php?id=459In relation to dentists, patients in England are not registered with an NHS dental practice, although many NHS dental practices do tend to see patients regularly. There is no geographical restriction on which practice a patient may attend, allowing patients the choice of where they would like to receive a course of treatment. Community Dental Services are available across the country and provide specialised dental services to people who are unable to access dental treatment by a high street NHS dentist due to additional needs.83 local authorities with the highest levels of need have received funding since 2021 for the Rough Sleeping Drug and Alcohol Treatment Grant to provide targeted support and treatment to people who sleep rough, or are at risk of sleeping rough, with substance dependency. Bournemouth, Christchurch, and Poole are receiving £1 million for these services in 2024/25, and Bournemouth is receiving an additional £1.3 million from the Department in 2024/25 for the Housing Support Grant. This is funding a team to provide targeted housing support to people in treatment for substance dependence, and is showing promising results around reducing evictions, which we hope will have an equally positive impact on people’s treatment outcomes.

Media and Sport, if he will make an assessment of trends in the level of the contribution of visual effects and animation industry to the economy in the last ten years.

The government is committed to supporting the UK’s visual effects and animation industries, ensuring that they are able to remain competitive nationally and internationally. We will continue to focus on maintaining a strong and globally competitive sector by keeping tax incentives modern, agile, competitive and attractive; investing in infrastructure; supporting innovation; working with industry on skills development; and promoting independent content.The audio-visual tax reliefs play a key role in boosting competitiveness, incentivising the production of culturally British content, and contributing to the industry’s - and the nation’s - economic growth. The Government values the UK’s visual effects and animations sectors and the important role they play in the fabric of the creative industries; and is committed to giving creators security and a regulatory and fiscal environment where creativity can flourish and help the UK’s creative industries maximise their economic potential.During 2019 the VFX industry added £1.68bn in GVA to the UK economy and supported 27,430 jobs. This is likely an underestimate due to the spillover impacts of advertising and brand promotion work that were not captured in BFI's analysis. 201825,790 FTE and £1.58bn201722,500 FTE and £1.31bn201618,880 FTE and £1.08bn The total economic impact for the parts of the sector supported by Animation Tax Relief amounted to: 2017£258.1 million in GVA2018£261.0 million2019£254.6 million in GVA

Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of trends in the level of unemployment in (a) the visual effects sector and (b) UK film and TV post production.

The last Parliament saw the biggest increase in economic inactivity in nearly 40 years. Film and TV employment rates were drastically affected by the US writers’ and actors’ strikes in 2023, and VFX and post-production was affected for longer than most. Figures from trade union Bectu suggest that the sector is recovering slowly, as unemployment across film and TV is down from 74% in September 2023 to 52% in July 2024. This clearly remains a difficult time for the sector and the government is committed to working with the sector to get it back to rude health, by attracting new film and high-end TV productions that require our VFX and post-production studios; providing competitive tax incentives; investing in infrastructure; supporting innovation, and promoting independent content.The government will continue to ensure our tax incentives are modern, agile, competitive and attractive.The government wants to ensure a creative career remains a viable prospect for people from whatever their background. We are working with industry stakeholders as they respond to the recommendations of the Good Work Review, a sectoral deep dive funded by DCMS into job quality and working practice. This sets out a number of priorities, including developing dedicated support and guidance for self-employed creators.The government will continue to engage with sector organisations such as the UK Screen Alliance to support and champion our award winning VFX and post-production talent and make the UK an attractive and competitive place to do business.

What steps his Department is taking to increase understanding of homelessness across primary care networks.

The Department recognises the importance of reducing barriers to services for those experiencing rough sleeping. This is why we supported the development of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) guidance, which provides recommendations on ways to improve access to, and engagement with, health and social care services for people experiencing homelessness. This guidance is available at the following link:https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng214NHS England has delivered the Inclusion Health Framework, which includes focus on the homeless population. Inclusion health is an umbrella term which includes homeless people, and is used to describe people who are socially excluded, and who typically experience multiple interacting risk factors for poor health such as stigma, discrimination, poverty, violence, and complex trauma. The framework supports regions and systems to review, plan, and improve health services for people in inclusion health groups, and is available at the following link:https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/NG214NHS England is also delivering the Innovation for Healthcare Inequalities programme which has provided learning around effective new ways of improving equitable access to the latest health technologies and medicines, as well as being a springboard for further work at a system level in tackling healthcare inequalities. Further information is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/aac/what-we-do/innovation-for-healthcare-inequalities-programme/We know that patients are struggling to access general practice (GP), especially those belonging to health inclusion groups. We are committed to fixing the front door to the National Health Service and ensuring that patients receive the care they deserve. The Government will bring back the family doctor, incentivising continuity of care so patients can see the same doctor at each appointment, which is key in improving complex and ongoing conditions. We will also introduce Neighborhood Health Centres to bring together vital health and care services, ensuring healthcare is closer to home.The Introduction to inclusion health e-learning course is available to help NHS staff understand what inclusion health is, the factors that cause exclusion, and the practical actions that GPs can take to improve care for these patients. Further information is available at the following link:https://elearning.rcgp.org.uk/course/view.php?id=459In relation to dentists, patients in England are not registered with an NHS dental practice, although many NHS dental practices do tend to see patients regularly. There is no geographical restriction on which practice a patient may attend, allowing patients the choice of where they would like to receive a course of treatment. Community Dental Services are available across the country and provide specialised dental services to people who are unable to access dental treatment by a high street NHS dentist due to additional needs.83 local authorities with the highest levels of need have received funding since 2021 for the Rough Sleeping Drug and Alcohol Treatment Grant to provide targeted support and treatment to people who sleep rough, or are at risk of sleeping rough, with substance dependency. Bournemouth, Christchurch, and Poole are receiving £1 million for these services in 2024/25, and Bournemouth is receiving an additional £1.3 million from the Department in 2024/25 for the Housing Support Grant. This is funding a team to provide targeted housing support to people in treatment for substance dependence, and is showing promising results around reducing evictions, which we hope will have an equally positive impact on people’s treatment outcomes.

What steps his Department is taking to help ensure hospital staff are trained to provide services which aim to address health inequalities, are inclusive and pay attention to the diverse experiences of people using these services.

The Department recognises the importance of reducing barriers to services for those experiencing rough sleeping. This is why we supported the development of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) guidance, which provides recommendations on ways to improve access to, and engagement with, health and social care services for people experiencing homelessness. This guidance is available at the following link:https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng214NHS England has delivered the Inclusion Health Framework, which includes focus on the homeless population. Inclusion health is an umbrella term which includes homeless people, and is used to describe people who are socially excluded, and who typically experience multiple interacting risk factors for poor health such as stigma, discrimination, poverty, violence, and complex trauma. The framework supports regions and systems to review, plan, and improve health services for people in inclusion health groups, and is available at the following link:https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/NG214NHS England is also delivering the Innovation for Healthcare Inequalities programme which has provided learning around effective new ways of improving equitable access to the latest health technologies and medicines, as well as being a springboard for further work at a system level in tackling healthcare inequalities. Further information is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/aac/what-we-do/innovation-for-healthcare-inequalities-programme/We know that patients are struggling to access general practice (GP), especially those belonging to health inclusion groups. We are committed to fixing the front door to the National Health Service and ensuring that patients receive the care they deserve. The Government will bring back the family doctor, incentivising continuity of care so patients can see the same doctor at each appointment, which is key in improving complex and ongoing conditions. We will also introduce Neighborhood Health Centres to bring together vital health and care services, ensuring healthcare is closer to home.The Introduction to inclusion health e-learning course is available to help NHS staff understand what inclusion health is, the factors that cause exclusion, and the practical actions that GPs can take to improve care for these patients. Further information is available at the following link:https://elearning.rcgp.org.uk/course/view.php?id=459In relation to dentists, patients in England are not registered with an NHS dental practice, although many NHS dental practices do tend to see patients regularly. There is no geographical restriction on which practice a patient may attend, allowing patients the choice of where they would like to receive a course of treatment. Community Dental Services are available across the country and provide specialised dental services to people who are unable to access dental treatment by a high street NHS dentist due to additional needs.83 local authorities with the highest levels of need have received funding since 2021 for the Rough Sleeping Drug and Alcohol Treatment Grant to provide targeted support and treatment to people who sleep rough, or are at risk of sleeping rough, with substance dependency. Bournemouth, Christchurch, and Poole are receiving £1 million for these services in 2024/25, and Bournemouth is receiving an additional £1.3 million from the Department in 2024/25 for the Housing Support Grant. This is funding a team to provide targeted housing support to people in treatment for substance dependence, and is showing promising results around reducing evictions, which we hope will have an equally positive impact on people’s treatment outcomes.

If her Department will provide additional support for the provision of AIM level 3 extended diploma in games, animation and visual effects skills in further education colleges.

This government recognises the importance of the creative industries sector and the need to ensure a skills pipeline into professions in that sector. Whilst the government publicly funds qualifications in a range of subject areas, it is for schools and colleges to determine what provision they deliver to their students based on their individual circumstances and when taking into consideration factors such as learner and employer demand. The department believes that qualifications must deliver on its two central missions of enhancing and spreading opportunity for everyone and growing the economy. The department will ensure there are a range of high-quality qualifications that provide young people and adults with the skills they need, and which deliver on its missions. It has been previously announced that the department will undertake a focused review of the post-16 qualifications reform and clarify the position by the end of the year. The qualifications that remain will allow the department to unlock opportunity for young people, harness their talents to drive growth and fulfil the government’s missions.

If her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing support for workplace exchange programmes in the visual effects and post-production sector; and whether she is taking steps to encourage industry experts in that sector to provide vocational training.

The creative industries play a vital role in our economy and our nation’s cultural life. Making sure that the UK can provide a workforce with the right skills and capabilities is key to capturing the huge growth potential of the creative industries. The department recognises the importance of getting the right expertise into the classroom and the role that industry exchange has in making that happen. Through the Local Skills Improvement Fund, the department has enabled further education (FE) providers to engage in two-way exchange with industry, building up long-lasting networks with employers. This could include, for example, employers hosting webinars, delivering guest seminars in their local FE provider, or inviting students and teachers to observe latest industry practice. Additionally, the Taking Teaching Further programme continues to support FE providers to recruit and provide early career support to those with the relevant knowledge and/or industry experience to retrain as FE teachers, aiming to boost the quality and industry-relevance of teaching. The national FE teacher recruitment campaign specifically targets industry professionals and encourages them to share their skills by considering a career in FE teaching. The department will continue to support the introduction of industry experts into vocational courses to share their skills and experience.

If her Department will bring forward legislative proposals to include employers’ running costs for providing visual effects and post-production placements in the Apprenticeship Levy.

This government is transforming the Apprenticeship Levy into a new Growth and Skills Levy. The new levy will build on the apprenticeships programme to create more opportunities for learners and give employers greater flexibility to address critical skill shortages in their workforce, which will help drive economic growth. Skills England will be responsible for identifying training that is eligible for the Growth and Skills Levy, ensuring that levy-funded training delivers value for money and meets the needs of businesses. The department is working across government to develop the design of the Growth and Skills Levy and will set out more detail in due course.

Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to support British citizens working in Quebec's (a) visual effects and (b) animation industry to return to the United Kingdom's creative industries.

The government is committed to supporting the UK’s visual effects and animation industries, ensuring that they are able to remain competitive nationally and internationally. We will continue to focus on maintaining a strong and globally competitive sector by keeping tax incentives modern, agile, competitive and attractive; investing in infrastructure; supporting innovation; working with industry on skills development; and promoting independent content.The audio-visual tax reliefs play a key role in boosting competitiveness, incentivising the production of culturally British content, and contributing to the industry’s - and the nation’s - economic growth. The Government values the UK’s visual effects and animations sectors and the important role they play in the fabric of the creative industries; and is committed to giving creators security and a regulatory and fiscal environment where creativity can flourish and help the UK’s creative industries maximise their economic potential.During 2019 the VFX industry added £1.68bn in GVA to the UK economy and supported 27,430 jobs. This is likely an underestimate due to the spillover impacts of advertising and brand promotion work that were not captured in BFI's analysis. 201825,790 FTE and £1.58bn201722,500 FTE and £1.31bn201618,880 FTE and £1.08bn The total economic impact for the parts of the sector supported by Animation Tax Relief amounted to: 2017£258.1 million in GVA2018£261.0 million2019£254.6 million in GVA

What steps his Department are taking to drive innovation in meeting the health needs of people rough sleeping.

The Department recognises the importance of reducing barriers to services for those experiencing rough sleeping. This is why we supported the development of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) guidance, which provides recommendations on ways to improve access to, and engagement with, health and social care services for people experiencing homelessness. This guidance is available at the following link:https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng214NHS England has delivered the Inclusion Health Framework, which includes focus on the homeless population. Inclusion health is an umbrella term which includes homeless people, and is used to describe people who are socially excluded, and who typically experience multiple interacting risk factors for poor health such as stigma, discrimination, poverty, violence, and complex trauma. The framework supports regions and systems to review, plan, and improve health services for people in inclusion health groups, and is available at the following link:https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/NG214NHS England is also delivering the Innovation for Healthcare Inequalities programme which has provided learning around effective new ways of improving equitable access to the latest health technologies and medicines, as well as being a springboard for further work at a system level in tackling healthcare inequalities. Further information is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/aac/what-we-do/innovation-for-healthcare-inequalities-programme/We know that patients are struggling to access general practice (GP), especially those belonging to health inclusion groups. We are committed to fixing the front door to the National Health Service and ensuring that patients receive the care they deserve. The Government will bring back the family doctor, incentivising continuity of care so patients can see the same doctor at each appointment, which is key in improving complex and ongoing conditions. We will also introduce Neighborhood Health Centres to bring together vital health and care services, ensuring healthcare is closer to home.The Introduction to inclusion health e-learning course is available to help NHS staff understand what inclusion health is, the factors that cause exclusion, and the practical actions that GPs can take to improve care for these patients. Further information is available at the following link:https://elearning.rcgp.org.uk/course/view.php?id=459In relation to dentists, patients in England are not registered with an NHS dental practice, although many NHS dental practices do tend to see patients regularly. There is no geographical restriction on which practice a patient may attend, allowing patients the choice of where they would like to receive a course of treatment. Community Dental Services are available across the country and provide specialised dental services to people who are unable to access dental treatment by a high street NHS dentist due to additional needs.83 local authorities with the highest levels of need have received funding since 2021 for the Rough Sleeping Drug and Alcohol Treatment Grant to provide targeted support and treatment to people who sleep rough, or are at risk of sleeping rough, with substance dependency. Bournemouth, Christchurch, and Poole are receiving £1 million for these services in 2024/25, and Bournemouth is receiving an additional £1.3 million from the Department in 2024/25 for the Housing Support Grant. This is funding a team to provide targeted housing support to people in treatment for substance dependence, and is showing promising results around reducing evictions, which we hope will have an equally positive impact on people’s treatment outcomes.

What steps his Department is taking to support people experiencing homelessness to register with a (a) GP and (b) dentist.

The Department recognises the importance of reducing barriers to services for those experiencing rough sleeping. This is why we supported the development of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) guidance, which provides recommendations on ways to improve access to, and engagement with, health and social care services for people experiencing homelessness. This guidance is available at the following link:https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng214NHS England has delivered the Inclusion Health Framework, which includes focus on the homeless population. Inclusion health is an umbrella term which includes homeless people, and is used to describe people who are socially excluded, and who typically experience multiple interacting risk factors for poor health such as stigma, discrimination, poverty, violence, and complex trauma. The framework supports regions and systems to review, plan, and improve health services for people in inclusion health groups, and is available at the following link:https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/NG214NHS England is also delivering the Innovation for Healthcare Inequalities programme which has provided learning around effective new ways of improving equitable access to the latest health technologies and medicines, as well as being a springboard for further work at a system level in tackling healthcare inequalities. Further information is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/aac/what-we-do/innovation-for-healthcare-inequalities-programme/We know that patients are struggling to access general practice (GP), especially those belonging to health inclusion groups. We are committed to fixing the front door to the National Health Service and ensuring that patients receive the care they deserve. The Government will bring back the family doctor, incentivising continuity of care so patients can see the same doctor at each appointment, which is key in improving complex and ongoing conditions. We will also introduce Neighborhood Health Centres to bring together vital health and care services, ensuring healthcare is closer to home.The Introduction to inclusion health e-learning course is available to help NHS staff understand what inclusion health is, the factors that cause exclusion, and the practical actions that GPs can take to improve care for these patients. Further information is available at the following link:https://elearning.rcgp.org.uk/course/view.php?id=459In relation to dentists, patients in England are not registered with an NHS dental practice, although many NHS dental practices do tend to see patients regularly. There is no geographical restriction on which practice a patient may attend, allowing patients the choice of where they would like to receive a course of treatment. Community Dental Services are available across the country and provide specialised dental services to people who are unable to access dental treatment by a high street NHS dentist due to additional needs.83 local authorities with the highest levels of need have received funding since 2021 for the Rough Sleeping Drug and Alcohol Treatment Grant to provide targeted support and treatment to people who sleep rough, or are at risk of sleeping rough, with substance dependency. Bournemouth, Christchurch, and Poole are receiving £1 million for these services in 2024/25, and Bournemouth is receiving an additional £1.3 million from the Department in 2024/25 for the Housing Support Grant. This is funding a team to provide targeted housing support to people in treatment for substance dependence, and is showing promising results around reducing evictions, which we hope will have an equally positive impact on people’s treatment outcomes.

What steps his Department is taking to help ensure that hospitals work with (a) homelessness support teams and (b) drug and alcohol services to establish a clear understanding of (i) addiction, (ii) managing pain relief and (iii) managing withdrawal symptoms.

The Department recognises the importance of reducing barriers to services for those experiencing rough sleeping. This is why we supported the development of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) guidance, which provides recommendations on ways to improve access to, and engagement with, health and social care services for people experiencing homelessness. This guidance is available at the following link:https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng214NHS England has delivered the Inclusion Health Framework, which includes focus on the homeless population. Inclusion health is an umbrella term which includes homeless people, and is used to describe people who are socially excluded, and who typically experience multiple interacting risk factors for poor health such as stigma, discrimination, poverty, violence, and complex trauma. The framework supports regions and systems to review, plan, and improve health services for people in inclusion health groups, and is available at the following link:https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/NG214NHS England is also delivering the Innovation for Healthcare Inequalities programme which has provided learning around effective new ways of improving equitable access to the latest health technologies and medicines, as well as being a springboard for further work at a system level in tackling healthcare inequalities. Further information is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/aac/what-we-do/innovation-for-healthcare-inequalities-programme/We know that patients are struggling to access general practice (GP), especially those belonging to health inclusion groups. We are committed to fixing the front door to the National Health Service and ensuring that patients receive the care they deserve. The Government will bring back the family doctor, incentivising continuity of care so patients can see the same doctor at each appointment, which is key in improving complex and ongoing conditions. We will also introduce Neighborhood Health Centres to bring together vital health and care services, ensuring healthcare is closer to home.The Introduction to inclusion health e-learning course is available to help NHS staff understand what inclusion health is, the factors that cause exclusion, and the practical actions that GPs can take to improve care for these patients. Further information is available at the following link:https://elearning.rcgp.org.uk/course/view.php?id=459In relation to dentists, patients in England are not registered with an NHS dental practice, although many NHS dental practices do tend to see patients regularly. There is no geographical restriction on which practice a patient may attend, allowing patients the choice of where they would like to receive a course of treatment. Community Dental Services are available across the country and provide specialised dental services to people who are unable to access dental treatment by a high street NHS dentist due to additional needs.83 local authorities with the highest levels of need have received funding since 2021 for the Rough Sleeping Drug and Alcohol Treatment Grant to provide targeted support and treatment to people who sleep rough, or are at risk of sleeping rough, with substance dependency. Bournemouth, Christchurch, and Poole are receiving £1 million for these services in 2024/25, and Bournemouth is receiving an additional £1.3 million from the Department in 2024/25 for the Housing Support Grant. This is funding a team to provide targeted housing support to people in treatment for substance dependence, and is showing promising results around reducing evictions, which we hope will have an equally positive impact on people’s treatment outcomes.

How many veteran ID cards have been distributed in each local authority area to veterans who left service before December 2018.

The HM Armed Forces Veteran Card Scheme has had a two-phase rollout. Phase 1 is complete; all Service leavers since December 2018 automatically receive a Veteran Card from the Ministry of Defence as part of their Service Leaver Pack. Phase 2 extends access to the Veteran Card to those who left before December 2018. The new digital application and verification service launched at 00:01 on 28 January 2024 allowing pre-2018 veterans to apply for the card. The current delivery contract allows for the production of 50,000 Phase 2 pre-2018 veteran cards per month and are issued within an average of 15 calendar days from date of application receipt. As of 12 September 2024, there have been a total of 143,380 Phase 2 applications received, and 133,387 cards issued.  Demand is determined by the number of veterans who choose to apply and not the overall number of veterans in the UK. The attached table shows the total number of Phase two cards distributed by postal county.

What steps his Department is taking to increase the uptake of veteran ID cards by eligible veterans who were discharged before December 2018.

I can confirm this Government is absolutely committed to expanding the use of the Veteran Card and continues to assess options to increase uptake, with around 270 applications per day being received. As per our manifesto commitment, work is being undertaken to further expand the benefits of having a card, including making the Veteran Card an accepted form of Voter ID. I am also pleased to note that the card has recently become an accepted form of ID on British Airways domestic flights. Extensive communications have been issued by the Ministry of Defence in relation to the application service for the HM Armed Forces Veteran Card Scheme and applications have also opened for veterans in prison as part of the rehabilitation process. I also recognise the vast demographic of the veterans’ community and therefore continue to ensure paper applications are also available for those not digitally able to apply via the online route.