# Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Veterans and People

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Veterans and People is a ministerial position in the Ministry of Defence in British government, currently held by Alistair Carns. From 2022 to 2024, the role was Minister of State for Veterans' Affairs in Cabinet Office and the minister attended the Cabinet.

## History

It was formerly known as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence from 1989 to 2005 and as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence Veterans, Reserves and Personnel under Tobias Ellwood.
Johnny Mercer was appointed minister in July 2019 to the new government by incoming Prime Minister Boris Johnson. On 20 April 2021, Mercer was "sacked by text" after offering to resign at the end of Wednesday 21 April, but refusing to go earlier. In a tweet, Mercer said he was "relieved of [his] responsibilities in Government" because of his disagreements with the scope of the proposed Overseas Operations Bill. This new government law is designed to protect veterans from unfounded prosecutions. However, Mercer said it was a "red line" for him that British soldiers who served in Northern Ireland are excluded.
On 7 July 2024, after the 2024 United Kingdom General Election Mercer criticised Sir Keir Starmer’s new Labour government for failing to appoint a new Minister of State for Veterans' Affairs at the same time as the rest of his cabinet. He said; "You will note already that, despite his explicit personal promises in the election campaign, Keir Starmer has not appointed a veterans minister to his cabinet", adding, "If you understand what veterans need from their Government, this matters very much".
Alistair Carns was appointed Minister for Veterans on 9 July 2024; the position is now that of a parliamentary under-secretary of state, the most junior level of minister.

## Responsibilities

The minister has the following ministerial responsibilities:
* Civilian and service personnel policy
* Armed forces pay, pensions and compensation
* Armed Forces Covenant
* Welfare and service families
* Community engagement
* Equality, diversity and inclusion
* Veterans (including resettlement, transition, defence charities and Ministerial Covenant and Veterans Board, and Office of Veteran Affairs)
* Legacy issues and non-operational public inquiries and inquests
* Mental health
* Defence Medical Services
* The people programme (Flexible Engagement Strategy, Future Accommodation Model and Enterprise Approach)
* Estates service family accommodation policy and engagement with welfare

## List of ministers

| Name | Name | Entered office | Left office | Political party | Prime Minister |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence |||||||
| | The Earl of Arran | 25 July 1989 | 26 July 1990 | Conservative | Margaret Thatcher |
| | Kenneth Carlisle | October 1990 | March 1992 | Conservative | John Major |
| | The Earl of Arran | 28 November 1990 | 15 April 1992 | Conservative | John Major |
| | Viscount Cranborne | 22 April 1992 | 20 July 1994 | Conservative | John Major |
| | The Lord Henley | 20 July 1994 | 5 July 1995 | Conservative | John Major |
| | The Earl Howe | 5 July 1995 | 2 May 1997 | Conservative | John Major |
| | John Spellar | 6 May 1997 | 28 July 1999 | Labour | Tony Blair |
| | Peter Kilfoyle | 28 July 1999 | 30 January 2000 | Labour | Tony Blair |
| | Lewis Moonie | 31 January 2001 | 13 June 2003 | Labour | Tony Blair |
| | Ivor Caplin | 13 June 2003 | 11 May 2005 | Labour | Tony Blair |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Veterans |||||||
| | Don Touhig | 11 May 2005 | 5 May 2006 | Labour | Tony Blair |
| | Tom Watson | 5 May 2006 | 6 September 2006 | Labour | Tony Blair |
| | Derek Twigg | 6 September 2006 | 5 October 2008 | Labour | Tony BlairGordon Brown |
| | Kevan Jones | 5 October 2008 | 11 May 2010 | Labour | Gordon Brown |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Welfare and Veterans |||||||
| | Andrew Robathan | 13 May 2010 | 4 September 2012 | Conservative | David Cameron |
| Minister of State for Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans |||||||
| | Mark Francois | 4 September 2012 | 7 October 2013 | Conservative | David Cameron |
| | Anna Soubry | 7 October 2013 | 11 May 2015 | Conservative | David Cameron |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence Veterans, Reserves and Personnel |||||||
| | Mark Lancaster | 12 May 2015 | 13 June 2017 | Conservative | David CameronTheresa May |
| | Tobias Ellwood | 14 June 2017 | 26 July 2019 | Conservative | Theresa May |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence People and Veterans |||||||
| | Johnny Mercer | 28 July 2019 | 20 April 2021 | Conservative | Boris Johnson |
| | Leo Docherty | 20 April 2021 | 7 July 2022 | Conservative | Boris Johnson |
| Minister of State for Veterans' Affairs |||||||
| | Johnny Mercer | 7 July 2022 | 6 September 2022 | Conservative | Boris Johnson |
| | Johnny Mercer | 25 October 2022 | 5 July 2024 | Conservative | Rishi Sunak |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Veterans and People |||||||
| | Alistair Carns | 9 July 2024 | Incumbent | Labour | Keir Starmer |