In late 2012 Lord Ashcroft was appointed the Prime Minister’s Special Representative on Veterans’ Transition. At that time the apparent plight of Service Leavers was much discussed in the media, highlighted by some charities and of concern in government. Lord Ashcroft’s interest in the Forces and their charities, military history and courage provided the background to the appointment, and he was in a position to bring a completely independent approach as he held no candle for any particular body.
To give the appointment real meaning Lord Ashcroft decided to conduct a detailed review of the transition of Service personnel into civilian life, setting up a small team which, over the course of a year, met every organisation that had a stake in this field, conducted further surveys and held discussions with government departments. The result was The Veterans’ Transition Review, published in February 2014. It set out some 43 substantial recommendations of which the government agreed to implement 40; two of the others could be achieved in a different way and the third, concerning Northern Ireland, remains unresolved. In agreement with Oliver Letwin, who was leading and coordinating the government’s effort, Lord Ashcroft said he would publish follow-up reports annually to monitor progress.
This is the first annual follow up report to The Veterans’ Transition Review.