Northern Ireland: NIVSO Statement of Closure by September 2024

Northern Ireland Veterans’ Support Office

STATEMENT OF CLOSURE
Dear colleagues,

As you may know, the Independent Review of UK Government Welfare Services for Veterans, jointly commissioned by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and the Office for Veterans Affairs (OVA) and conducted in July of last year, recommended that the role and activities of the NIVSO should move into the OVA in order to continue to operate in Northern Ireland as the OVA’s regional presence. The UK Government recognised the Review’s recommendations based on the knowledge and trust held by the NIVSO, and the OVA undertook to determine its future activities, funding and governance arrangements.

Over the past few months we have been working with the OVA to plan this transition as seamlessly as possible to ensure continuity of service provision. However, on deeper consideration, the OVA has determined that it is unable to assume responsibility for the NIVSO and regrettably the very difficult decision has been taken to close the NIVSO office from the end of September 2024, at which time responsibility for the further development of veteran support across Northern Ireland will pass to the OVA.

The NIVSO team has been at the heart of the coordination and development of veteran support in Northern Ireland since April 2018 and we want to express our gratitude for the unwavering support you have shown to us all over the years. We hold the deepest respect for the work that each of you do and we have been honoured to be part of the very committed and effective network of veteran support. The closure of NIVSO marks the end of a chapter which has seen major new initiatives, programmes and services for veterans conceived, developed and implemented here and we are extremely proud of the progress that has been achieved in collaboration with partners, both regional and national.

We thank you for being a vital part of the journey to this point and we wish the OVA and the entire Northern Ireland veteran support network every success in taking forward the important work of supporting veterans and their families across Northern Ireland.

It is likely that this statement of our closure will generate more detailed questions about how NIVSO’s current and future plans and programmes of veteran support will be delivered across Northern Ireland, so please do contact ni-vso@mod.co.uk with any comments or questions you may have and we will ensure they are directed appropriately.

Sincerely,

The NIVSO Team

Information provided by HIVE NI