Scottish Government Support for the Veterans and Armed Forces Community 2024

Key Highlights

Collaboration and Coordination

We are providing funding of £315,000 to the Unforgotten Forces Consortium in this financial year. This will enable the consortium to continue to work with its partners to provide support and improve the lives of veterans over 60 across Scotland.

We continue to fund 14 projects through the Scottish Veterans Fund and are providing £456k of support this financial year. The priorities for the fund remain to support those projects which provide help to veterans and their families in the face of the cost of living crisis, Early Service Leavers and projects encouraging collaborative working across the veterans community.

Data

In June 2024, National Records of Scotland (NRS) published information from the 2022 Census on Scotland’s veterans population. This is the first time Scotland’s Census has ever collected data on veteran status.

Scotland’s 2022 Census found that 176,100 people had previously served in the UK Armed Forces. This is 3.9% of people aged 16 and over.

Perception and Recognition

This year we provided £22,000 of funding to Legion Scotland to deliver a national commemoration event at the Usher Hall to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day.

The First Minister represented the Scottish Government and the people of Scotland at the UK D-Day commemorations in Portsmouth and Normandy. In addition, the Veterans Minister attended the ANZAC and Gallipoli remembrance service, amongst other commemorative activity this year.

Community and Relationships

We continue to work with underrepresented groups within the veterans and Armed Forces community in Scotland to ensure their experiences and needs are better understood and supported. For example, we are working with stakeholders to go beyond the suggestions made to the Scottish Government within Lord Etherton’s LGBT Veterans Independent Review and ensure that the services we fund are welcoming and inclusive to all.

The Scottish Veterans Fund continues to provide funding to a number of projects helping veterans integrate into the local community, such as On Course Foundation’s project of networking and employment skills through golf events and Thistle Health and Wellbeing’s Meaningful Connections project for veterans severely impacted by long-term conditions.

Employment, Education and Skills

Veterans and their families are eligible for devolved employability support through Fair Start Scotland and No One Left Behind, details of which are included in this year’s Welcome to Scotland. From April 2024, all Scottish Government-funded employability support is being delivered through No One Left Behind from which almost 400 veterans have been supported since April 2019.

We are committed to increasing the number of veterans we employ and continue to explore a number of ways to achieve this including through the Civil Service’s Going Forward into Employment (GFIE) and Guaranteed Interview schemes. We offer both of these schemes to veterans and their families and as of August 2024 there are at least 139 veterans working for the Scottish Government.

Finance and Debt

This year, the Scottish Government published an independent evidence review to gain a better understanding of ‘seldom-heard’ groups, including veterans. These represent communities who are often under-represented in public services, such as the wider social security system.

Health and Wellbeing

Following a successful pilot, the General Practice Armed Forces and Veterans Recognition Scheme was launched in November 2023 and we continue to promote the benefits of identifying members of the Armed Forces Community to support the provision of safe, effective, person centred health care.

The new Veterans Mental Health Advisory Group has been established to oversee the development of the Veterans Mental Health & Wellbeing pathway and the implementation of the principles of the Veterans Mental Health & Wellbeing Action Plan. The Veterans Mental Health Advisory Group held its inaugural meeting in March 2024, chaired by Dr Lynne Taylor, Principal Psychology Advisor in the Scottish Government.

Veterans and the Law

We supported the Scottish Veterans Commissioner during the development of her thematic report on Veterans and the Law which was published in October

Making a Home in Civilian Society

We wrote to housing stakeholders encouraging them, when reviewing their allocations policy, to give priority to Service leavers and encouraged them to include a specific question on veterans on housing application forms to ensure veterans applying for housing are identified and provided with appropriate housing options advice, and to improve data collection.

We continue to provide grant funding to Housing Options Scotland which includes the Military Matters Project which received 263 new referrals in 2023-2024.

Progress against Veterans Strategy Commitments

Cross-Cutting Factors and Themes

Vision

This Strategy has a 10-year scope. Through the 10-year timescale, the Strategy addresses the immediate needs of older veterans as well as setting the right conditions for society to empower – and support – the newer generation. Initiatives and proposals will work towards an enduring Vision articulated by three key principles.

Principles

The Principles articulate in greater detail the strategic objectives of the Vision.

Veterans are first and foremost civilians and continue to be of benefit to wider society

Veterans are encouraged and enabled to maximise their potential as civilians

Veterans are able to access support that meets their needs when necessary, through public and voluntary sectors

These Principles encompass Regular and Reservist veterans and, where appropriate, their families and the bereaved. The focus is on those veterans of the UK Armed Forces resident in the UK. In due course, we will consider encompassing veterans who return to or choose to live overseas. These Principles are consistent with, and underpinned by, the Armed Forces Covenant.

Cross-cutting factors

That affect service provision for veterans across all Key Themes

• Collaboration
• Co-ordination
• Data
• Perception
• Recognition

Key themes

That emerged as affecting veterans’ lives

• Community and relationships
• Employment, education and skills
• Finance and debt
• Health and wellbeing
• Making a home in civilian society
• Veterans and the law

Summary of 10 Year Outcomes

Cross-Cutting Factors

1 Collaboration between organisations - Improved collaboration between organisations offers veterans coherent support.

2 Coordination of veterans’ services - The coordination of veterans’ provision delivers consistent aims and principles over time and throughout the UK, ensuring veterans, their families and the bereaved are treated fairly compared to the local population.

3 Data on the veteran community - Enhanced collection, use and analysis of data across the public, private and charitable sectors to build an evidence base to effectively identify and address the needs of veterans.

4 Public perception and understanding - The UK population value veterans and understand their diverse experiences and culture.

5 Recognition of veterans - Veterans feel that their service and experience is recognised and valued by society.

Key Themes

1 Community and relationships - Veterans are able to build healthy relationships and integrate into their communities.

2 Employment, education and skills - Veterans enter appropriate employment and can continue to enhance their careers throughout their working lives.

3 Finance and debt - Veterans leave the Armed Forces with sufficient financial education, awareness and skills to be financially self-supporting and resilient.

4 Health and wellbeing - All veterans enjoy a state of positive physical and mental health and wellbeing, enabling them to contribute to wider aspects of society.

5 Making a home in civilian society - Veterans have a secure place to live either through buying, renting or social housing.

6 Veterans and the law - Veterans leave the Armed Forces with the resilience and awareness to remain law-abiding civilians.