{"value":{"id":940652,"askingMemberId":1490,"askingMember":null,"house":"Commons","memberHasInterest":false,"dateTabled":"2018-07-13T00:00:00","dateForAnswer":"2018-07-18T00:00:00","uin":"163771","questionText":"To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if the Government will commit to funding the a) Big White Wall and (b) Veterans' Gateway throughout this Parliament.","answeringBodyId":11,"answeringBodyName":"Ministry of Defence","isWithdrawn":false,"isNamedDay":true,"groupedQuestions":[],"answerIsHolding":false,"answerIsCorrection":false,"answeringMemberId":1487,"answeringMember":null,"correctingMemberId":null,"correctingMember":null,"dateAnswered":"2018-07-18T00:00:00","answerText":"

The Big White Wall (BWW), a digital support and recovery service, was established in 2007 not specifically for Service personnel and veterans but for the wider population suffering with mental health problems.

The decision to contract for the BWW services was made following the publication in 2010 of Dr Andrew Murrison MD MP’s ‘Fighting Fit’ report. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) fund the Service personnel spaces on the online mental wellbeing website provided by the BWW, while the Department for Health and Social Care fund access for veterans and families of serving personnel.

The MOD has contributed the following payments to the BWW in the financial years shown:

Financial Year

Amount (£) excluding VAT

2012-13

73,000

2013-14

75,600

2014-15

100,800

2015-16

91,100

2016-17

35,745

2017-18

26,250

The MOD payment to the BWW is expected to continue for the near future, dependent on whether serving personnel still require access to the BWW or if they have access to other support.

The Government has funded the Veterans Gateway through the Covenant Fund, which ran a grants programme to award a single grant to a pilot project to create the Veterans Gateway. A £2 million grant was awarded to a consortium of charities led by The Royal British Legion. A further £200,000 was awarded to support a university-led evaluation of this pilot project and to support activities to improve the reach of the Veterans Gateway.

The Covenant Fund provision for the Veterans Gateway was provided in order to help establish the Veterans Gateway and cover the start-up costs. This was made with the explicit understanding of all the charities involved that this grant would be a one-off payment. We strongly support the work of the Veterans Gateway; however, there are currently no plans for the MOD to provide regular funding.

","originalAnswerText":"","comparableAnswerText":"","dateAnswerCorrected":null,"dateHoldingAnswer":null,"attachmentCount":0,"heading":"Armed Forces: Mental Health Services","attachments":[],"groupedQuestionsDates":[]},"links":[{"rel":"self","href":"/Questions/940652","method":"GET"}]}