Driving home for Christmas: New travel fund to help thousands of personnel reunite with loved ones

For thousands of military personnel around the country, the joy of reuniting with loved ones during the Christmas period can often be overshadowed by financial pressures.

Not only is it the most expensive time of the year, when many drive hundreds of miles to celebrate with friends and family, but an increase in fuel prices and added congestion on the roads only adds to the worry.  

But this holiday season, the government has announced that tens of thousands of Armed Forces personnel will be able to claim the cost of a return journey – a support line for those most likely to be separated due to the demands of military life. 

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Home for Christmas, by rail or road

Around 30,000 personnel within two to five years of their military careers – a group particularly affected by postings far from home early in their careers – will benefit from a funded return journey. 

A further 5,000 separated parents with non-resident children will also receive travel credit.

Visiting RAF Lossiemouth to thank personnel for their "extraordinary sacrifices" this festive season, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: "I know how important being with family is, and that is why we're announcing extra travel support for service personnel to be with their loved ones this Christmas."

The announcement coincided with Defence Secretary John Healey meeting the ship's company of HMS Prince of Wales, as the Carrier Strike Group returned home from its eight-month-long deployment. 

Speaking to BFBS Forces News, Mr Healey said: "This is a small way of the nation saying, 'what you do is important to us all'." 

He added he was determined to "reset the nation's contract" with those who serve, and be a government on the side of people in uniform. 

The move was welcomed by Antony Cotton, a prominent supporter of the Armed Forces, who last year called on then-Defence Secretary Grant Shapps to widen existing provisions, which only offer a limited number of free rail journeys to some service personnel.

Speaking to BFBS Forces News, the Coronation Street star said: "Hopefully this will be the start of a much wider conversation about how all our serving community should be able to get home from their postings, regardless of where or when."

He added that it was a brilliant start, "at the most wonderful time of the year". 

BFBS Forces News understands Mr Cotton has been lobbying the government on the issue of free rail travel for service personnel since Labour came to power.

Whether by train or on the road, travel support will be available this Christmas and in the months ahead, helping personnel reach their loved ones when they need it most.