Support for Veterans and the Armed Forces community: report 2018

Overall Achievements

Welcome to Scotland

In June 2018 we published Welcome to Scotland: a guide for Service personnel and their families moving to Scotland ^[1] to provide practical information and advice on housing options, education choices, healthcare and employment support. This has been well received by the Armed Forces community in Scotland and we continue to work with our partners, such as the Families Federations, to publicise this and other sources of information.

Scottish Veterans Fund

This year marks a decade of investment in our Scottish Veterans Fund with over £1.3 million provided to charities and organisations supporting over 150 projects.

Taken together, the Scottish Government’s investment of £360,000 and Standard Life Aberdeen’s contribution of £240,000, creates a total fund of £600,000. This year, 19 more projects were funded across Scotland.

Scottish Veterans Commissioner

The role of Veterans Commissioner continues to be unique across all UK administrations. We have appointed a new Scottish Veterans Commissioner, Charlie Wallace, to continue the vital work undertaken by Eric Fraser who stepped down in September. This commitment ensures continued focus on improving the lives of veterans and scrutiny of service provision for veterans and wider policy for Armed Forces families in Scotland.

Social Care

We have continued to commit £5 million this year to ensure veterans in receipt of social care in Scotland continue to get the full value of their war pensions.

Veterans Healthcare

We have accepted the recommendations in the Veterans Commissioner’s 2018 report: Veterans Health and Wellbeing: A Distinctive Scottish Approach, and are developing a distinctive Scottish approach to veterans healthcare.

NHS Scotland support for Armed Forces and Veterans

Scottish Government and Veterans Scotland have developed and launched a suite of guidance for primary health practitioners and champions to help them support Armed Forces personnel and veterans ^[2] .

Mental Health Support

The Scottish Government continues to take forward the actions set out in our 10-year mental health strategy to ensure people can get the right help at the right time, expect recovery, and fully enjoy their rights, free from discrimination and stigma. Many of the key themes and commitments will impact positively on veterans and their families.

In 2018 we also agreed a further 3 year funding arrangement with NHS Ayrshire and Arran to continue the provision of specialised mental health services by Combat Stress for veterans resident in Scotland totalling £4.272 million to 2020/21. We also continue to fund the Veterans First Point Network which offers a one-stop-shop for veterans no matter their need.

Veterans Employability Strategic Group

The Veterans Employability Strategic Group ( VESG) has continued to be a vital mechanism through which key partners have assessed and delivered activities to support the employment journey of those leaving the Armed Forces.

The work of the group has resulted in a range of collaborative achievements including: the creation and launch of the My World of Work veterans landing page, the development of a Skills Development Scotland ( SDS) and Career Transition Partnership ( CTP) A96 Career Guidance Collaboration for Effective Transition Pilot, and the establishment of a joint SDS and Department of Work and Pensions “Champions Group” to ensure their respective services for supporting veterans and spouses/partners are aligned effectively.

Veterans Employability Concordat

Key partner organisations in the Veterans Employability Strategic Group are finalising a Veterans Employability Concordat as an enduring partnership arrangement to support veterans and those transitioning from the Armed Forces into fulfilling civilian careers.

My World of Work

A dedicated landing page for Armed Forces personnel, veterans and families on My World of Work was launched during Modern Apprenticeship week in March 2018. My World of Work is Scotland’s career website which is packed with expert career information, advice and interactive resources, and complements the face to face services from expert Skills Development Scotland advisers.

Career Guidance Collaboration for Effective Transition Pilot

Skills Development Scotland, the Careers Transition Partnership, and other key partners are developing a pilot in the A96 Corridor through Highland & Moray (which will benefit personnel at Fort George, Kinloss Barracks and RAF Lossiemouth). This pilot will see early, impartial career guidance being offered from SDS qualified expert careers advisers to Armed Forces personnel as they commence transition from the Armed Forces and access their CTP resettlement programme.

Translating Military Qualifications

To address some of the barriers experienced by personnel seeking civilian employment, earlier this year, the Scottish Funding Council provided £19,000 of funding to the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework Partnership to map learning pathways and translate qualifications gained in Service life into those which are recognised by employers in Scotland today.

Scottish Apprenticeships

Scottish Apprenticeship week showcases what is on offer across the employment spectrum in Scotland.

For early Service leavers and veterans and families keen to start an apprenticeship, Skills Development Scotland will continue to provide information and advice through apprenticeships.scot.

Public Sector Jobs

NHS Boards are exploring potential involvement in the ‘ Step Into Health’ Programme which provides a dedicated pathway for the Armed Forces community to access career opportunities available in the NHS. NHS National Education for Scotland is also developing the careers website to help map Service leavers’ skills with NHS Jobs.

Scottish Government has made some early changes, such as amending our internal recruitment guidance to raise awareness of veterans within the workforce.

Colleges and Universities

An Expert Group including veterans’ stakeholders and the college and university sector met in November; they agreed and have established a sub-group to take forward specific actions on Information, Advice and Guidance for veterans in colleges and universities and the establishment of a champions network.

Housing Advice

Earlier this year we revised and published: A Scottish housing guide for people leaving the Armed Forces and ex-Service personnel ^[3] to refresh and improve its content and visual impact.

Over the past year, we have also continued to provide funding to Housing Options Scotland. Its ‘Military Matters’ project focuses on housing issues affecting people serving in the Armed Forces in Scotland, Service personnel transitioning into civilian life, and veterans – helping them to find the right home in the right place.

Housing Conveners

We have recently written to Housing Conveners to reinforce to Local Authorities that the housing requirements of the Armed Forces community continue to be fully considered when councils are preparing their Local Housing Strategies.

Affordable Housing Supply Programme

Through our Affordable Housing Supply Programme, we continue to offer funding from our £1.3 million grant award to the Scottish Veterans Garden City Association to deliver additional homes for physically and psychologically disabled ex-Service personnel. Further development opportunities are being explored.

Homelessness Prevention and Strategy Group

We have begun work with the Homelessness Prevention and Strategy Group ^[4] and partners, including Local Authorities, health and third sector organisations, to consider and implement the Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Action Group’s ^[5] recommendations and those from the 2018 Local Government and Communities Committee’s Report on Homelessness. This includes driving forward activities to address veterans’ homelessness.

Expansion of Veterans Champions

We continue to have a strong network of champions in Scotland across Local Authorities and other public sector bodies. This year, SDS has also established a network of Veterans Champions across its five region areas. All champions are now included in a refreshed list recently compiled by Veterans Scotland to help champions develop links and share best practice.

The Scottish Prison Service

The Scottish Prison Service continues to have Veterans in Custody Support Officers ( VICSO) operating in each Scottish prison to help those who receive a custodial sentence. The Scottish Veterans Prison In-Reach Group continues to examine the welfare needs of ex-Service personnel in custody.

Police Scotland

As a result of ongoing collaboration with Police Scotland, Poppy Scotland and Citizens Advice Service Scotland, the referral system to the Armed Services Advice Project ( ASAP) enables officers to refer individuals needing assistance to relevant support groups through a single point of contact.

Supporting Service Children in Education

In the last year, the Scottish Service Children Strategy Group ( SSCSG) ^[6] , which brings together key Scottish stakeholders to identify and address challenges that Service children may face, was expanded to include representatives from the Navy and RAF, in addition to long-standing Army representation.

Not least to ensure a legacy from the MOD’s Education Support Fund ( ESF), Scotland’s National Transitions Officer, a role supported by the fund, launched a Forces children’s education website ^[7] earlier in 2018 highlighting a range of resources for various audiences, including teachers and parents.

We published the revised Supporting Children's Learning Code of Practice which through specific references to Forces children promotes their potential need for, and entitlement to, additional support.

The SSCSG has also been working closely with stakeholders on guidance for teachers, Local Authorities and parents on supporting early stages transitions between different education systems.

Supporting Military Spouses in Teaching

Work has been undertaken to overcome barriers experienced by spouses who qualified as teachers in the rest of the UK, to allow them to teach in Scotland.

To teach in Scotland an individual must have a teaching qualification and be registered with the General Teaching Council for Scotland ( GTCS), the independent regulatory body for teachers. The GTCS has introduced Provisional Conditional Registration which allows qualified teachers to be registered provisionally and employed while they undertake “top-up” training to enable full registration.