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12 Nov 25. To mark the 70th anniversary of the German Armed Forces, HENSOLDT is donating € 10,000 to the Bundeswehr-Sozialwerk e.V. “The Sozialwerk provides financial and material support to members of the German Armed Forces, their families and surviving dependants,” said HENSOLDT CEO Oliver Dörre, explaining the donation. He sees a moral obligation to get involved: “As a former soldier, I have seen first-hand how the association has supported comrades who have found themselves in dire straits, who were wounded in action or who lost loved ones. The German Armed Forces serve Germany and thus all of us and our security. That cannot be taken for granted. With this donation, we are expressing our gratitude to the soldiers, but also to their families.” Since 1960, the Bundeswehr Social Welfare Association (Bundeswehr-Sozialwerk e.V.) has been helping soldiers in the German Armed Forces in need. The association helps to improve the compatibility of family and service, especially where one parent is deployed abroad. It supports the children of soldiers by organising leisure activities for children and young people or for mothers, fathers and children.
03 Nov 25. New Defence Housing Service to put forces families first.
A new Defence Housing Service will be the centrepiece of a ‘Forces First’ approach in the Government’s new Defence Housing Strategy, launched today.
- New standalone Defence Housing Service to put Forces First, prioritising needs of military personnel, families and veterans.
- New and renewed homes will meet modern property standards comparable to high-quality professional landlords.
- Defence Secretary to meet military families benefiting from improved accommodation.
A new Defence Housing Service will be the centrepiece of a ‘Forces First’ approach in the Government’s new Defence Housing Strategy, launched today.
Armed Forces personnel and their families will benefit from a standalone Defence Housing Service, to better manage military homes while keeping them in public hands, putting the voices of forces families at the forefront and delivering new homeownership opportunities for military personnel and veterans.
Defence Secretary John Healey will visit newly improved service family accommodation in West London today alongside Armed Forces Minister Al Carns as the Government begins its major renewal programme. They will see works already underway and will meet Armed Forces families who have recently moved into refurbished properties with improvements including new kitchens, bathrooms and heating systems. The new Defence Housing Service will be backed by record investment announced today, with £9 bn invested over the next decade to deliver on the vision of the Strategy. In addition to the proposed Defence Housing Service, the Strategy also recommends a generational renewal of military housing and kickstarts a ten-year programme of housebuilding on surplus defence land to deliver for Britain. The ‘Forces First’ approach set out in the Strategy will also offer priority access to homes built for service personnel and veterans.
The Defence Housing Strategy will be funded by investment of £9 bn over the next decade and delivers on commitments made in the Strategic Defence Review, which announced a record additional £1.5bn investment in military family accommodation in this parliament. This funding follows January’s landmark deal to bring 36,000 military family homes back into public ownership.
The Strategy sets out proposals for a modern approach to allocating homes, improving forecasting and creating housing zones around operational hubs. Delivering more homes, in the right places, also means that the Ministry of Defence can widen housing eligibility to more service personnel – such as couples in long-term relationships and those who are non-resident parents – to better reflect modern life. Building homes to meet the extra demand will take time, but in the interim, a rental support scheme will allow service personnel to rent privately while homes are made available. While the Strategy focusses on family accommodation, the Ministry of Defence will also undertake an urgent review of Single Living Accommodation and proposals will also be developed to address the condition and service standards for overseas family homes. As part of the Strategy’s recommendations, Armed Forces personnel and veterans will receive priority access to homeownership opportunities when Defence sites are used for housebuilding. The ‘Forces First’ homeownership opportunities will apply to a proportion of new homes on selected surplus defence sites, agreed between MOD, the local authority and the developer based on demand and site viability. (Source: https://www.gov.uk/)
09 Nov 25. Veterans support centres to be rolled out across the country as transformational strategy launched.
The government is launching its new Veterans Strategy to transform government support for our heroes and recognise their invaluable contribution across the country
From:
- £27m in government funding goes live for local bids, turbocharging network of recognised VALOUR centres.
- First Veterans Strategy in seven years will transform government support for our heroes and recognise their invaluable contribution across the country.
- Developed alongside the Strategic Defence Review and the Armed Forces Covenant, the strategy commits new £12m fund for veteran housing.
Over 1.8m veterans across the UK will benefit from a new network of local support centres, as the MOD launches a transformational Veterans Strategy to renew the nation’s contract with those who serve and have served. The new centres will help improve access to support services such as health, housing and employment, and may extend to finance, wellbeing, welfare and integration into society. The local centres will fundamentally transform how assistance is provided, offering the first coordinated national network of support centres. They will connect to a new VALOUR headquarters within the Ministry of Defence, with regional centres and field officers working in communities. On top of the £50m VALOUR fund, the Government is also committing an additional £12m to vital homelessness services through the Reducing Veteran Homelessness programme. Op FORTITUDE will also be extended, putting the service that has already housed over 1,000 veterans on a sustainable footing. These programmes will deliver three years of support services across the UK for veterans at risk of or experiencing homelessness, fulfilling the Prime Minister’s pledge that homes will be there for heroes. This strategy, like the Armed Forces Covenant, applies equally across the UK, with its vision, themes and priority outcomes a shared endeavour between UK and devolved governments. The strategy has benefitted from the inputs of veterans themselves and from organisations in all parts of the UK – across the public, private and third sector – that work with veterans and the wider Armed Forces community. As part of the government’s Plan for Change, the new strategy recognises veterans as national assets, whose unique skills strengthen communities, boost the economy and enhance national security. The strategy is built on three priorities: celebrating those who have served, harnessing veterans’ skills, and ensuring effective support for those who need it. At the core of the strategy is VALOUR – backed by £50m in funding. From today, organisations can bid for the first tranche of this funding to become part of a network of support centres across the country for our heroes – ensuring easier access to the assistance they need, when and where they need it. This strategy has been informed by those who it seeks to benefit: veterans, and we remain committed to stand by those who have stood by us. VALOUR – which launched earlier this year and is backed by £50m in total – will foster the enterprising spirit of veteran charities, better connect local and national services and ensure veterans’ support is truly data driven. VALOUR-recognised support centres will open from spring 2026, offering veterans with a single contact point for support needs. The announcement comes after the government announced a commitment to support World War Two veterans to travel to overseas commemorative events and expanded the eligibility for the Nuclear Test Medal. Developed alongside the Strategic Defence Review and the Armed Forces Covenant, the new strategy forms part of the Government’s Plan for Change commitment to strong national security foundations.
09 Nov 25. Second World War veterans to receive government support for overseas remembrance events. Government to support Second World War veterans to travel to overseas commemorative events. Government to fund Second World War veterans’ to travel to overseas commemorative events
- Announcement forms part of Ministers’ drive to renew the nation’s contract with those who have served, ahead of Veterans Strategy launch on Monday 10 November
- Commitment will ensure veterans can “remember, reconnect and pay their respects
Second World War veterans will be supported by the Government to travel to overseas commemorative events, ensuring those who served in that conflict can attend remembrance ceremonies whilst they are still able. The Government recognises the profound importance of enabling World War II Veterans to pay their respects at the sites where they served and where their comrades fell. The announcement comes ahead of the publication of the government’s new Veterans Strategy on Monday 10 November, which will outline further ambitions on celebrating veterans and recognising them as a strategic national asset. Minister of State, Lord Coaker announced the commitment following his attendance at several European commemorations earlier this year, where he witnessed first-hand the importance of these events for veterans. (Source: https://www.gov.uk/)
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SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity, has been providing lifelong support to our Forces and their families since 1885. In 2020, our teams of volunteers and employees helped more than 79,000 people in need, the
currently serving (both regulars and reserves), veterans from the Second World War and those who have served in more recent conflicts, as well as their families. SSAFA understands that behind every uniform is a person. And we are here for that person – any time they need us, in any way they need us, for as long as they need us.
https://www.ssafa.org.uk/about-us
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