Veteran Owned UK - House of Commons Roundtable

16th March 2026

Partner: Veteran Owned UK

Veteran Owned UK was set up by a former British Army Royal Engineer, Scott Johnson, in order to help support ex-military business owners.

Event: House of Commons – Roundtable

Locations: Houses of Parliament, London, SW1A 0AA
Date: Monday 16 March 2026
Volunteering Hours: 9

Social Value Created: £3,040.06

£957.06 (NT15 – Expert support to VCSEs and SMEs (£106.34 x 9 h0urs)
£2,083 (NT16 – Support for VCSEs through donations)

Scott noticed that supporting Veteran Owned Businesses was very popular in the USA, but not in the UK. He wanted to change this and so started the first and original Veteran Owned Business Directory for the UK. The Directory now has over 2,000 veteran owned businesses registered in the UK, over 200 of which are construction or trades related.

On 16 March 2026, Hire Safe Solutions was invited by Scott to the Houses of Parliament with a select representation of pro-armed forces private and public sector organisations alongside veteran focused VCSEs (voluntary, community social enterprises). This was due to our focus on ethical procurement, by partnering with VOUK Member, Combat2Coffee based in Ipswich.

Our objective was to discuss with the Veteran Minister’s team our experiences around the various challenges and opportunities that face veteran entrepreneurs, in order to see if we can work together to help change the landscape in which they operate.

Scott’s research shows that there are 2,029,195 veterans in the UK, with just under half – 957,882 being of working age (16-64 years old). There are 143,043 veteran owned businesses, which is only 7%, compared to 9.89% of the general population. There is a clear case to support veterans upon leaving service to start their own businesses.

We suggested that this meeting would be a great opportunity for the veteran owned businesses attending to showcase their businesses to both the private sector and the Minister’s team. We donated the cost required to design and print a high-quality brochure for the veteran businesses involved, to help them showcase their services properly to this unique audience.

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S. Williams ConocoPhillips

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Everyone ive dealt with has been Friendly, Helpful and willing to help.

Veteran Owned UK - House of Commons Roundtable

Partner: Veteran Owned UK

Event: House of Commons – Roundtable

Social Value Created: £3,040.06

Hear From Our Customers

Honest, Reliable & Reactive Solutions for Working at Height