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Veterans' ID scheme will take 125 years at current pace, says Labour

Minister for Veterans' Affairs, Johnny Mercer, said the scheme would be completed by 2023 - Dan Kitwood
Minister for Veterans' Affairs, Johnny Mercer, said the scheme would be completed by 2023 - Dan Kitwood

A Government policy to roll out identity cards to veterans will take more than a century at the current rate of delivery, an analysis has found.

The sluggish pace poses a huge challenge for the veterans’ minister, Johnny Mercer, who has set a goal to complete the programme by next summer.

In 2019, ministers committed to every veteran receiving an ID card to speed up access to specialist health, housing and charity services.

The cards are meant to complement a commitment to provide specialist support in every part of the NHS - including mental health services - for veterans who have been affected by their service.

The scheme, which began with personnel who had left the military since December 2018, also had the intention of celebrating the contribution of veterans and giving them a “tangible link” to their career in the forces.

However, the Government has confirmed that so far just over 56,000 cards have been handed out since December 2018.

According to figures from the Office for National Statistics, there are more than 1.8 million veterans in England and Wales, meaning that just three per cent of veterans have been given a card to date.

The Labour Party has calculated that at the current rate of delivery it would take about 125 years to make sure all those eligible receive their card.

In an interview with The Telegraph earlier this month, Mr Mercer - who is himself a veteran - admitted there had been “technical challenges” in rolling out the scheme, but said he would complete it in 2023.

“I am determined to deliver on that even if it breaks me because we have to get that over the line,” he said. “I will get it done within the next 12 months. I want to get it out the door by the middle of next year. I will relentlessly pursue that.”

To meet this commitment, Labour has said Mr Mercer would therefore need to distribute more than 1.7 million cards in about six months.

Rachel Hopkins, the shadow veterans minister, said: “These figures are further evidence that while the veterans’ minister likes to talk, he has actually changed very little for our veterans.

“The veterans ID card is supposed to help our society keep its promise with those who serve by ensuring quick access to services like healthcare. But the Conservatives have delivered just a fraction of the cards needed.

“Our veterans don’t need empty promises, they need action. For their sake, I hope the minister can keep his promise but based on his party’s record of delivery, I don’t like his chances.”

Mr Mercer said: “What I suspect Labour don’t know but everyone else does, is that these veterans ID cards are at the stage where if you leave the services today we can issue you one, and we are working hard to reach those who have left historically.

“I’ve made commitments and I stand by them. We are in the end stages of a huge programme of digitisation of Veterans UK to enable these to be produced, and I hope to be able to do so next year.

“Veterans care being so poor under Labour is what led me to becoming a politician, establishing the UK’s first Office for Veteran’s Affairs and the first cabinet minister for veterans affairs in the UK. I am content with our record and encourage Labour to focus on real issues, not those they have invented.”

The Ministry of Defence was contacted for comment.