If Britain truly values its veterans, it must start by employing them

So, when ministers put £50m behind a new Veterans Strategy – promising new local support centres linking homes, jobs and health services – it’s fair to ask: will it work?

From the frontline, the answer is yes: if we can create more job opportunities.

A new report by Royal British Veterans Enterprise (RBVE) tracks what happens when homeless veterans are given a stable home and wraparound support. The headline is stark: 72 per cent of those who moved into sustained independent living secured some paid work.

Once someone has an address, a bed, and a door they can lock, everything else becomes possible. GP appointments are kept, addictions are tackled, and training feels realistic after a proper night’s sleep. Most importantly, employment suddenly becomes possible – the true key to independence.

Within 18 months working with 63 veterans, the “move on” rate into independent living rose to 44 per cent, up from the long-stuck one-third baseline. The pattern was consistent: camaraderie and confidence returned when veterans had stable housing, social connection, and purposeful activity. Some veterans will always need lifelong care, but most don’t want permanent support. They want a fair shot at work and a fresh start.

Veteran homelessness remains a sizable, often hidden crisis. The UK Veterans’ Survey suggests around 1 in 400 veterans are homeless or in insecure accommodation. This is almost certainly an undercount given how many sofa surf or sleep in cars – or are simply missing from official statistics.

There are clear reasons veterans get stuck. Military life rarely builds local ties, trauma and injury make the private rental market harder, and too many leave without a civilian housing plan. This puts meaningful long-term employment at risk. You can’t job hunt from a park bench.

These veterans served their country and then fell through the cracks of a brutal housing market, missing out on stable work. The economy loses too. Britain invested in their leadership, problem-solving skills and technical know-how while in service – the capabilities missing in the skills shortage.

Fresh money from the Veterans Strategy is welcome, but it won’t deliver unless business and government act now. The Chancellor may not have gone as far as many hoped in the Budget, but NI relief for hiring a veteran into their first civilian role is a practical lever that should be used now.

At RBVE, we already know what works. We have 106 years’ experience supporting veterans and people with disabilities into jobs, homes and strong communities.

Our social enterprise generates £1.2 million social value each year. Our £15 million investment in a new factory that will create many of Britain’s road, rail and commercial signage will create hundreds of jobs and skills opportunities.

RBVE’s Reducing Veteran Homelessness report shows that when veterans are properly housed, they rejoin rather than retreat from society. They work, pay tax, and bring valuable skills.

If we want lasting change, government must match this ambition to create meaningful opportunities – and the long-term housing supply to support Britain’s bravest.

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Lisa Farmer is Chief Executive of Royal British Veterans Enterprise.

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