Armed forces commanders and veterans' organisations have welcomed a coordinated approach by the Scottish Government to ensure the wellbeing of Scotland's service personnel and veterans.
The new Armed Forces Commitments Paper sets out what the Scottish Government is doing to address the health, housing, education and justice needs of current and former service men and women.
The paper also lays out how the devolved government intends to work with partner organisations in the future to ensure consistent support for this group. The Scottish Government says that:
Key commitments outlined in the paper that have already been undertaken by the Scottish Government include providing online advice to service families about education for their children, allowing service personnel to apply for social housing prior to discharge from the Armed Forces, providing injured veterans with state of the art prosthetic limbs, and creating the Scottish Veterans' Fund – an initiative which has provided £400,000 of grant assistance to 60 projects since 2008.
From the index to the Scottish Government's Armed Forces Commitments Paper:
Foreword
The Rt Hon Alex Salmond MSP, First Minister of Scotland
Introduction
Keith Brown MSP, Minister for Housing and Transport (ex RM)
Overarching Measures
Armed Forces and Veterans Advocate
Covenant Annual Report
Firm Base Forum
SaBRE
Veterans
Mapping Where Veterans Live
Achievements
General Practitioner Records
General Practitioner Awareness
Working with Veterans Scotland
Commemorative Events
Scottish Parliament Cross Party Group on Veterans
Veterans Welfare Service
Healthcare
Achievements
Prosthetics
Review of Ministry of Defence Hospital Units
Community Health Index Numbers
Reception Arrangements for Military Patientså
Web-based Healthcare Information
Capturing Veteran Status on GP IT Systems
Veterans' Health Needs
Alcohol and Drugs Misuse
Mental Health Care for Veterans
Community Outreach
Housing
Achievements
Allocation Policies
Housing Voluntary Grants Fund
Working with Scottish Veterans Housing Association
Education
Working With Children's Education Advisory Service
£3 million Support Fund for State schools
Scottish Domiciled Students Studying in Other Parts of the UK
Justice
Scottish Prison Service Veterans in Custody Support Officers
Fatal Accident Inquiries
Sport
Scottish Disability Sport
Links to other documents and websites
