The final item of business today is a members’ business debate on motion S4M-11103, in the name of Christina McKelvie, on the armed services advice project in a year of remembrance. The debate will be concluded without any question being put.
Motion debated,
That the Parliament applauds what it considers the tremendous work undertaken by the Armed Services Advice Project (ASAP), a service funded by Poppyscotland and delivered by the Citizens Advice Scotland for serving and former armed forces personnel and their families; understands that most service people make successful transitions back into civilian life but that, for those who do not, ASAP is a lifeline that can help people in a time of need; recognises in this year of remembrance that suffering and sacrifice is sadly not a thing of the past and believes that society owes it to the armed forces and their families to help them out in their time of need; commends ASAP for providing this support to forces and their families in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse and across Scotland, and congratulates the project on delivering immense benefits to over 5,300 clients across Scotland, putting £3.5 million back into client’s pockets and resolving countless debt, housing and benefit issues every week.
17:03
At the very beginning, I thank everyone who signed the motion to allow it to be debated on this timely occasion.
A little earlier this afternoon, I and friends from the armed services advice project, Citizens Advice Scotland and Poppyscotland were delighted to hand to the minister for veterans a highly significant report. They join us tonight in the public gallery, and I thank them all for the work that they do throughout the year but especially at this time of the year.
Like remembrance day, the report is a reminder that, while we never forget those who have been lost in conflict, we must provide the right support to those who leave the armed forces for civilian life.
I visited an interesting project this morning at Machanhill primary school, in Larkhall in my constituency. The children had identified all 257 men whose names are on the remembrance stone in Larkhall, and they were remembering them all today on poppies that they had put on the school fence. Such examples of young people remembering our past enable us to look to the future, which is what the report that I am going to talk about is all about.
The armed services advice project has the acronym ASAP, which seems important. Given people’s shifting needs under a brutal and bruising austerity regime, we cannot wait around in the hope of something better. We are promised much more of the same; there will be more cuts and ever-reducing benefits for people with disabilities—a group that includes many former service personnel. For people who are faced with the bedroom tax and debt problems, just keeping food on the table is becoming a challenge.
Is that fair and appropriate? Is that the kind of Scotland that we want to inhabit? Of course not. It is not appropriate for anyone who lives in Scotland, whatever their circumstances, but the idea that veterans should be punished for serving their country is especially abhorrent.
Back in 2012, Citizens Advice Scotland published “Civvy Street: The New Frontline—Meeting the advice needs of the Armed Forces community in Scotland”, which set out the issues that veterans can experience after they leave the armed forces. We debated the report in the Parliament.
Most people make the transition successfully, but a significant minority experience challenging problems. That is where the armed services advice project comes in. All sorts of problems can emerge, especially after a long time in service, when someone has become unfamiliar with how the civilian world operates—and the world changes every day; sometimes I have difficulty keeping up with it. People in the armed forces can be out of touch with non-serving pals, which can cause problems.
Folk are not always well up on issues to do with financial management and running a home for themselves and their family. They might have undiagnosed mental health problems. They might have accessed payday loans—Citizens Advice Scotland published a report about payday loans today. When it comes to family life on civvy street, there can be big issues. The adjustment can be very difficult indeed.
The new report, “Supporting the Scottish Armed Forces Community in 2014”—we have copies for members—takes a fresh look at the challenges that veterans experience and how we can most effectively help people to work through those challenges.
Veterans are not fundamentally different from people in any other walk of life. They encounter the same problems as the rest of us do. Debt and disability benefit changes have a similar impact. However, there can be different patterns. Veterans seem to be more likely to have multiple issues and sometimes they react more negatively to a single problem.
The ASAP service makes a valuable contribution, reaching out to veterans and introducing them to the extensive network of support and assistance that is available to them. The network grows every day as a result of all the projects that are involved. The distinct roles that are played by the partners—Citizens Advice Scotland, Poppyscotland, the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund, Seafarers UK and the armed forces charity, the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association—along with the support of the Scottish Government are to be commended and supported.
A key finding of the new report is that the need for advice on housing and benefits has increased. That is perhaps not surprising; the bedroom tax hits veterans at least as hard as it hits other people. The cuts in disability living allowance and an approach whereby amputees and people with long-term critical health conditions are often told that they are perfectly fit for work will have a significant impact.
Advice needs are changing. Benefit entitlement is the number 1 issue for ASAP clients. That tells us a lot about the Westminster Government’s attitude but nothing about how the Westminster Government plans to tackle the situation—perhaps it does not plan to do so. Table 1, on page 7 of the report, gives the top 10 issues for ASAP clients in 2012 to 2014. The top six issues are: benefit entitlement; charitable applications; employment and support allowance; the DLA care component; housing benefit; and the DLA mobility component. That paints a bleak picture.
Veterans often seek to become self-employed when they move back to civvy street, but many encounter problems. The whole business of looking for work, accessing housing and coping with homelessness needs on-going and careful attention. There has been a 77 per cent increase in requests for advice about ESA applications, according to the report. There is a clear correlation between welfare reform and the increased need for advice. There is therefore enormous value in sustaining ASAP—a precisely focused and dedicated project that is aimed at addressing veteran’s needs.
I know that members will have experience of ASAP and I am keen to hear what they have to say about its work, so I will finish with a comment from a service user, who is quoted on page 25 of the report. The service user said:
“ASAP they have been absolutely brilliant, all the information they’ve gave me they’ve actually helped me out a lot in the last year, they’ve got me things that I should have been entitled to for years, they’ve got all them in place now.”
The key words there are
“should have been entitled to”.
That person should not have needed to seek that type of support for something that they are entitled to; it should have been in place. However, with ASAP’s help, that support is now in place. That kind of practical support is what makes a difference.
I commend ASAP to the chamber and I believe that, as a Government, as a Parliament and as ordinary citizens, we must continue to support the work of ASAP, CAS, Poppyscotland and all the other organisations that I mentioned. I wish them well for the next two years and I look forward to the next report.
17:11
I am genuinely delighted to be taking part in the debate. I congratulate Christina McKelvie on lodging the motion. As convener of the cross-party group on armed forces veterans and, indeed, as a member of the advisory board of Poppyscotland, the body that funds ASAP, I could not have chosen a more suitable subject for debate on this remembrance day. I feel very honoured to be taking part in it.
The motion makes a really important point, which is that most servicepeople make a successful transition back into civilian life. That is something that we should not forget and should always highlight. Indeed, it is to be fervently hoped that the percentage of those making that successful transition will increase and continue to increase over time, as the work that is now taking place during service to identify servicemen and women who might require support after leaving the armed forces becomes ever more sophisticated and successful in identifying those most vulnerable individuals. Yet, as the report published by CAS today emphasises,
“a significant minority experience challenging problems”
when transitioning from the highly ordered—and, in many ways, protected—regime of military life back to the devil-take-the-hindmost, competitive world of civvy street. It is no wonder that some people find it almost impossible to cope with that change. That simply underlines the importance of ASAP’s fundamental aim, which is to be a focal point for the armed forces community in Scotland for access to advice, information and support, while working closely with key partner organisations to ensure that clients receive the most appropriate support.
The aspect of ASAP’s work that involves liaising closely with the key partner organisations, which Christina McKelvie mentioned, is fundamental to the success that the project has undoubtedly achieved. The figures that have been highlighted speak for themselves, as Christina McKelvie noted. I am quite sure that that level of success will continue as a direct result of what the motion rightly calls
“the tremendous work undertaken by the Armed Services Advice Project”.
However, I want to use the rest of the short time that is available to me to highlight one aspect of transition that is perhaps worthy of greater focus. I was very moved by a conversation that I had with a senior SSAFA representative at the reception here in Holyrood to launch the poppy appeal just a couple of weeks ago. She told me of a woman who had sought her out for help—that lady was at a complete loss as to how she could continue to look after her ex-services partner without finding access to the support that she felt she needed herself. She was literally at her wits’ end.
That issue was highlighted in a song by Eric Bogle, a Scots-born singer-songwriter who has lived in Australia for many years. He wrote a song called “Welcome Home” for Australian Vietnam veterans who were returning home at the end of that dreadful conflict. It features somebody called Annie, a long-suffering and faithful wife who is waiting for her loved one to return. One verse goes like this:
“When a Nation goes to war, everyone’s a casualty
Some are maimed and scarred, but most have wounds you cannot see
So in place of the man she had known Annie found instead
A sick and troubled stranger in her bed”.
I find that verse extraordinarily poignant. It surely highlights an unsung and unheralded partner with whom we need to work more closely: the long-suffering and patient life partner who too often has to pick up and try to rebuild the pieces of the person they love once they have returned from a tour of duty or a scene of conflict and who probably gets very little thanks for trying to do so.
The report rightly mentions the role of carers, but I suspect that there are many unidentified individuals out there who struggle to cope with the unexpected personality change in their partners when they leave the armed forces. They, too, desperately need our help and support, for they are as much victims of conflict as the partners for whom they care.
ASAP has achieved an enormous amount in its short lifetime but, sadly, there remains an enormous amount to do, and I know that the Parliament wishes it nothing other than continued success. I feel privileged to add my name to the list of those who support the motion that is before us.
17:15
I sincerely thank Christina McKelvie and congratulate her on bringing the motion to the Parliament for debate on what is probably the most poignant day for it: the 11th day of the 11th month. Please forgive me for taking a little time to speak about the hellish conflict of world war one. I do so for a purpose, as I want to talk about Stirling’s role in it.
Because of Stirling’s central location and railway station, it became an important recruitment centre for Scotland in the first world war. As well as being a base for the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, Stirling acted as a recruitment and transit centre for the thousands of men who made their way from there to the hell of the trenches. Recruits generally stayed for a few days, were medically examined, issued their equipment and then shipped off to more permanent bases. Much of the training of the volunteers involved the digging and backfilling of trenches in King’s park in Stirling and in Plean country park.
In Stirling, people became used to the sight and particularly the sound of soldiers marching to the playing of pipes from Stirling castle to the railway station as they left for war. At the beginning of the war, hundreds were piped out of the castle, but the sound of the pipes gradually disappeared as the war went on and, eventually, near the end of that hellish conflict, the city fell silent—there were no pipers left. For me, that is one of the saddest aspects of Stirling’s military history.
For those who returned from the war, life would never be the same again. Of course, little or no support was available to them outside their immediate families. Today, however, we are lucky to have projects such as the armed services advice project, or ASAP, to support our servicemen and women returning from conflict zones. To have a service that provides advice specifically to the armed forces community in my constituency is a real benefit not only to the service users but to the community as a whole.
In Stirling, we are lucky enough to have a local adviser called Ally Gemmell, who is there to assist and advise those who have problems that may have been exacerbated by their service experience and any conflict that they have been involved in. Ally and the other advisers across Scotland provide specialist assistance and have links with other organisations in their local areas, which allow them to tie in support from those who have the best knowledge and resources. The advisers are fantastic at pulling people together. My constituents who use the service really value and cherish the support that they receive.
As Christina McKelvie outlined, ASAP is no different from many other organisations when it comes to the challenges that it faces. In fact, a lot of its workload is due to the welfare reforms. In the past few years, citizens advice bureaux have had an increase in the number of inquiries regarding benefits, with 37 per cent of inquiries from veterans relating to the welfare changes. I find it incredible that we now have 24 new volunteers operating in the Stirling area. That is testament to the scale of the challenge.
Let me bring to life the support that ASAP provides with the story of a former Black Watch soldier from my constituency. This veteran, who was originally from Cambusbarron, joined the Black Watch aged 16 and served across the world in many dangerous war zones. After many years serving his country, he returned home to Scotland to continue with civilian life. Once home, his marriage fell apart, he ended up homeless and his life took a downwards spiral as he began to take drugs to help cope with the flashbacks that he was having from his time in the military. The armed services advice project was able to step in, offer support and help him to get a war pension and service allowance. If ASAP had not been there to help him, I dread to think what might have become of that man and where he would have turned to in his hour of need.
There are stories like that from throughout the country. They illustrate the dedication and hard work of the support workers from the project. The work that Citizens Advice Scotland, Poppyscotland and the armed services advice project are undertaking together is invaluable, to be cherished and, I have no doubt, life-saving on occasions, so I say thank you.
17:20
I congratulate Christina McKelvie on securing this members’ business debate on the armed services advice project, particularly on remembrance day. I also thank Citizens Advice Scotland and Poppyscotland for the work that they do in delivering the project and for the updated report that they provided to all MSPs today.
As the motion points out, the Citizens Advice Scotland project is tremendously important. It has managed to put more than £3.8 million directly back into the pockets of veterans and their families since its inception. That is a return of £3.42 for every £1 received in funding for the project, which shows incredible value for money.
Although that financial return is certainly impressive, it is not the reason why the service is so valued. The reason why it is so valued is the difference that it makes to the lives of people who have served their country and are now finding it difficult to adjust to civilian life.
We should note that, although a significant minority of armed forces veterans find it difficult to adjust, the majority of former serving personnel integrate back into civilian life with little or no difficulty. That said, the updated report on the armed services advice project had some interesting findings.
The findings on debt were positive, as it has been recognised for a long time that some veterans have not been able to manage their personal finances after leaving the armed forces. As a result of problems finding and sustaining employment and housing, service leavers can quickly find themselves in debt and financial difficulty. The regimented lifestyle of the forces, where bills and food are often not the responsibility of a private soldier, can sometimes lead people into difficulty when they leave the services and are not quite ready or prepared for, or have not even spoken about, the responsibilities that they will have to take on.
It was therefore surprising and welcome that the proportion of veterans who go to the project with personal debt issues has fallen to the point where it is now lower than the proportion of the general population in Scotland going to citizens advice bureaux with debt issues. That is commendable and is down to the hard work that has been done in advising service leavers.
That said, the findings on welfare and benefits were anything but welcome. The difficulties that veterans have had with claiming benefits and the sanctions that have been imposed are similar to those that we hear about in our surgeries from anyone else, but I found a quotation from a veteran in the report to be shocking. They said:
“Eh, I wasn’t too happy about it because well I felt it was my place to work but because of my injuries I couldn’t, I suppose I was being naïve, stubborn, I had pride that I had to go and beg for money from people, basically that’s the way I looked at it and I still do look at it that way.”
That is a comment from a former member of our armed forces—somebody who has served our country and, I assume, has an injury as a result of active service on our behalf.
I do not think that any one person is more deserving than anyone else of a particular benefit, but nobody who has been injured in active service should have any sense that they are begging or that they are undeserving of our support. I hope that the people who talk about scroungers and benefit fraud as if it were a much bigger issue than it is take some time to reflect on the impact that that has had on injured former service personnel. That quote in particular hits home in that regard.
I hope that, if those who are watching us tonight take anything from this debate, it is the support that this Parliament and the country will continue to give to our veterans. We will do that not out of charity or a sense of pity or because they have begged for it, but because they deserve it.
17:25
Today is an appropriate day for us to be holding this debate. The conflict that started 100 years ago this year came to an end as the guns fell silent at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month and, in our acts of remembrance around this time, we tend to focus on the fallen of that and other conflicts—on those who will never come home. However, we need to remember, too, those who came home. It was to look after the returning veterans, maimed and damaged by war, that the Earl Haig Fund was set up in the first place, and it is to support veterans that the money that is raised by the fund still goes.
When the first world war came to an end, the returning servicemen were promised a land fit for heroes, but it never materialised. Many of the soldiers struggled to find work or decent homes for their families, and post-traumatic stress disorder was dismissed simply as shellshock. Thankfully, we understand far more about the needs of veterans today, but the picture is still far from perfect, as members have suggested.
Even those who are leaving the armed forces but not after a conflict can face real difficulties in making a smooth transition into civilian life. Poppyscotland and Citizens Advice Scotland are to be praised, therefore, for the work that they have done with the armed services advice project, and I welcome the publication of the updated CAS report, which highlights the issues that those leaving the forces face, including issues around finding accommodation, housing arrears, homelessness, benefits—in particular, disability benefits and sanctions—and employment.
The armed services advice project provides the additional support that many of those men and women need. Indeed, I note that some 6,000 people have been helped since the project began and that, on a practical but purely financial level, the project has been a real success, with a total client financial gain of £3,856,668. That represents a return of £3.42 for every £1 of funding that the project has received. However, as has been mentioned, that is just one part of the story.
What is much more valuable than the pounds and the pence is the support that the project provides, and the sensitivity and understanding that helps to put some extremely vulnerable clients at their ease and allows them to trust those who are offering assistance. One of the clients who is quoted in the briefing that was kindly provided by Citizens Advice Scotland underlined that. He said:
“having been very nervous prior to the visit, I was put at ease and dealt with sympathetically”.
That sort of understanding and support is a vital component in how the armed services advice project is reaching out to and supporting its vulnerable clients. I am also pleased to note that, in the area that I represent, Citizens Advice Scotland has dedicated specialist regional officers associated with the project in Fife, Tayside, Stirlingshire and Clackmannanshire.
From the detailed breakdown of issues with which people present at citizens advice bureaux, it is clear some issues are significantly more common for the ASAP clients than for other clients. That reinforces the view that those who are leaving the armed forces face a specific and distinct package of difficulties, and proves that such a targeted and specific advice service is not only helpful, but much-needed.
As a member of the Parliament’s Welfare Reform Committee and the cross-party group on veterans, the work that is being done by the project is a matter of real interest and pride to me.
On benefits, a particular issue concerns disability living allowance and the sanctions that are imposed in the system. We really must get to the bottom of that issue.
I am pleased to support the Scottish Government, which has not only done everything in its power to resist the worst impact of the austerity agenda from Westminster, but has been extremely proactive in working on behalf of veterans. I pay particular tribute to the Minister for Transport and Veterans, Keith Brown, who as we know is a veteran. I congratulate my colleague Christina McKelvie on securing this important debate and on bringing the issue to the chamber. I join her in applauding the work of the armed services advice project.
17:30
One of the measures of a responsible and civilised society is how it treats its veterans. Regardless of whether we, as individuals, agree with the conflicts to which our military have been committed, we have a duty of care to those men and women when they seek to return to civilian life, especially when involvement in those conflicts has left its mark—physically, mentally or both.
Research has shown that, in the 16 to 44 age range, the number of ex-services personnel who have mental health disorders is three times that of the wider population. That is a sobering statistic. Even if they have not been involved in conflicts, we have a responsibility, as a society, to assist them to make what can, for some, be a difficult transition into an environment that is far removed from the one that they have been used to.
I commend the work of the armed services advice project, and I commend my colleague Christina McKelvie for bringing the motion to the chamber. The extent to which the project—which is funded by Poppyscotland and delivered by Citizens Advice Scotland—is needed is identified by today’s report, whose headline figures show that 5,756 individual clients have been seen in a little over four years—since July 2010—and that a financial return approaching £4 million has been generated for those individuals and their families. When we drill down further, the demand for the services on offer is even clearer. Some 1,769 clients were recorded in the first two years of the project, but the following two years, up to March 2014, saw 3,114 people come through the doors, which was a nearly 80 per cent increase.
We must proactively welcome service personnel and their families back into our communities. Although it great that we have in place services such as the ones that ASAP offers, we ought to be making it as easy as possible for ex-services personnel to integrate into civvy life in the first place. We need to remove the need to seek out support further down the line when avoidable issues have become problems.
I am proud to represent an area of Scotland that is doing just that. Other parts of the country will, I am sure, be doing their bit, but I highlight what veterans who return to or relocate to Angus can find by way of immediate and readily accessible assistance. Through Angus Council, services are in place to support veterans—should they satisfy the eligibility criteria—in areas such as housing benefit, council tax reduction, discretionary housing payments, Scottish welfare fund crisis grants and community care grants.
In addition, if a veteran has responsibility for children of school age, free school meals, school clothing grants and education maintenance allowance may be available. When assessing entitlement to housing benefit or council tax reduction, it is council policy, when calculating the income of the applicant, to disregard in full any entitlement to war disablement pension or war widows pension, thereby increasing the amount that can be received.
As part of the military covenant, Angus Council provides housing information and advice to veterans and members of the services through the council’s housing options service, with advice being made accessible by a variety of means. There is also a comprehensive information booklet, “Veterans First”, which covers a range of topics.
Perhaps most important—as the minister is well aware—is that Angus Council is actively providing affordable accessible homes for ex-services personnel who have special needs. That includes individually designed new houses in the council’s mainstream stock, and houses within a new development at Camus Crescent in Carnoustie, where five wheelchair-accessible properties are being constructed for Houses for Heroes Scotland. Those properties are expected to become available in April or May next year. I am told that in excess of 20 applications have already been received.
Richard Callander, the chairman of Houses for Heroes, commented on the progress that is being made at Camus Crescent, and said:
“This well-designed development will offer homes tailored to the specific needs of young veterans injured in recent conflicts. The provision of—”
these—
“affordable houses will enable five ... families to live comfortably in their home and ... community.”
Surely that is the key point—in their home and community.
As the minister knows from having formally launched the demolition of the old folks complex that used to occupy the site, those homes are located in the heart of Carnoustie. It sends a clear message that injured ex-services personnel will be welcomed into the heart of our communities and not left on the fringes of them, geographically or metaphorically.
Of course, no system is perfect. Even in Angus, there is and will be a need for ASAP. The CAB in Arbroath has been offering a seven-hours-a-week ASAP service for a year now, which has attracted about 50 cases thus far. I suspect that that number is set to grow, given that there are discussions under way aimed at establishing an advice clinic at nearby RM Condor.
I congratulate Poppyscotland and the CAB on the work that they are doing on this important area. I welcome the report that has been published today: it provides an informative update on the issues that prompt ex-services personnel to turn to ASAP for support and advice.
17:35
I, like other members, congratulate Christina McKelvie on securing this debate and drawing the Parliament’s attention to the excellent work done by ASAP and to the publication of its annual report, which provides details of the issues with which it has assisted veterans over the past two years.
As a number of members have said, this is a very appropriate day on which to discuss this issue as we remember those who served in previous conflicts. I think that all members will have been involved in remembrance events in their area, as I was on Sunday.
Two events since then stick in my mind. One was with a local school, Lornshill academy, which had a fantastic remembrance garden put together by the pupils, who had done a lot of research. The event included an absolutely spine-tingling and very memorable rendition of “The Green Fields of France.”
Bruce Crawford said that Stirling was a departure point for many people going to the war. This morning I unveiled a plaque at Glasgow Central station, where thousands of people left to go to the war, many of whom of course never returned.
Members will recall from our 2012 debate on the first ASAP report that the service made an immediate and very effective impact and that it is highly regarded by the ex-service charity sector, which is very important. The latest report reaffirms the success and importance of ASAP. It continues to offer and provide a comprehensive advice and support service on a diverse range of issues to serving personnel, veterans and their families.
I should mention some of the comments made by members. I heard the list of things that are happening in Angus, some through the council and some through the Scottish Government. It really heartens me to hear that so much is being done for our veterans. That is social justice in action for our veterans.
The fact that nearly 6,000 have used the service since 2010 is a testament to the staff of ASAP for their incredible work and a fine reflection of the successes that it achieves. That has also been reported in the media. It is a real testament to its success that so many more people are accessing its services. In that respect and many others, we are shining a light on the areas where veterans perhaps did not get the support that they should have had in the past. It is a mark of the service’s success that so many veterans are accessing it.
Every bit of help provided, every extra pound of additional benefit and every bit of assistance with finding a job, securing a house or resolving a financial difficulty makes an enormous and, sometimes life-changing, difference to the person who has walked through ASAP’s door.
Alex Fergusson quite rightly said that the vast majority of service personnel manage the transition very effectively. However, how much more effectively would some of them manage it if the benefits and assistance were automatic and provided as a right and if more was done to create awareness of the benefits that are there?
Mark Griffin was right as well. We have to tackle the attitude that some members of the forces have that this help is undeserved and it is not really their place to ask for these things. Of course those people deserve every assistance that we can give them.
The success, support and determination of ASAP is acknowledged. That is why it is supported by Citizens Advice Scotland, Poppyscotland, the Army Benevolent Fund and the RAF Benevolent Fund, Seafarers UK and the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association. I, like other members, offer my congratulations to everyone involved with ASAP on another excellent year.
I know that the service works well and is connected to a range of other support agencies. That is what makes it so effective. The report that was published today proves that to be the case.
The report highlights a number of issues that the service has addressed. It makes interesting reading. Members have highlighted specific examples of achievements and areas where further work is necessary to ensure that our armed forces community is indeed properly supported by society at large.
The title of the previous ASAP report, “Civvy Street: The New Frontline”, underlines—perhaps to the surprise of many people in civilian life—how much of a trauma entering civilian life can be. Given the increased numbers of people doing that, some of whom have been made redundant and some of whom have left after a long period on active service, both of which can be quite traumatic, there will be a need for this kind of support for many years to come.
Based on the work that was undertaken on behalf of more than 3,000 veterans and covering a two-year period, the report highlights that, although there are specific issues on which some of our ex-service community can and do need extra support, the arrangement of public services for our armed forces community is improving. Not surprisingly, their needs generally mirror those of the wider, general population.
A number of themes and threads emerge from the report. For example, debt problems faced by ex-service personnel are dropping, as Mark Griffin mentioned, and are lower than those in the general population. That does not mean that we should be complacent as debt can be and is a huge burden on individuals and families. However, I am reassured to note that credit card debt, for example, is less than half as common as it was two years ago. It is also gratifying that, although significant to the people who face difficulties or issues requiring resolution, housing, health and employment problems are all relatively low in number.
A strong theme in the report is the difficulty faced by many people, including those who have served, in understanding and accessing the benefits system. Indeed, 40 per cent of all ASAP cases have been in connection with that issue. Although a reserved matter, I am pleased that organisations with expertise such as ASAP, and the wider ex-service charity sector, are able to assist veterans and families to navigate through the system.
Last year, when I stood outside the Parliament for a press photo call with service personnel, veterans and representatives of Citizens Advice Scotland and ASAP, we held up placards showing that ASAP had directly helped the armed forces community access more than £2 million in benefits from the Department for Work and Pensions that would have otherwise gone unclaimed. That was, and is, an astonishing amount, and behind every pound is a story.
One year on, as we have heard, that figure has risen to £3.8 million since ASAP was established. That is proof, were it needed, that ASAP is a success. However, as many members have said, more needs to be done—by the military in preparing service personnel for civilian life before they are discharged and by making people aware not only of the benefits but of the fact that they are entitled to those benefits as of right; by the DWP in doing more work in making the benefits system more transparent; by DWP champions in helping ex-service personnel; and by the charity sector.
It is also worth noting that the new Scottish veterans commissioner, Eric Fraser, who I appointed in July and who took up post in August, will have a crucial role to play. It is gratifying to see that he is in the public gallery. It will be his task to gather information on what works and what does not work for veterans. He will identify where improvements in public services have to be made. He will establish where there are gaps and where disadvantage is still being experienced.
The commissioner will make recommendations, and I will act on them in respect of public services. When he makes recommendations in respect of other service providers, I will push for change in the appropriate place. Many members—not just those in the chamber—will play a part in doing that.
The Scottish Government has long recognised that the UK Government welfare reforms would have a huge impact on our people, our communities and our economy. We have made our position quite clear. We agree that reform is needed. The system needs to be simpler—the work of ASAP demonstrates that very well; expenditure needs to be affordable; and work needs to pay. However, the UK Government’s reforms are absolutely not the answer. They are unfair, they are coming too fast and they are happening against a backdrop of the biggest welfare system reductions in a generation.
We in Scotland see the third sector as a valued and genuine partner in helping us to mitigate the effects of decisions taken elsewhere. We are working closely with organisations, including the third sector and local authorities, across Scotland in a collective effort to do all that we can to help those affected by the worst impacts of the changes. The disability living allowance was mentioned. There have been thousands upon thousands of pounds lost to many veterans because of that change alone. Advice organisations are playing a key role in providing support to the people bearing the brunt of the cuts.
The motion has provided an opportunity to recognise the success of ASAP in delivering tangible benefits to those who have served. I give my assurance that this Scottish Government will continue to work with the armed forces, veterans’ charities and public sector providers to ensure that we meet the aspirations and expectations of our service personnel, as well as their families—Alex Fergusson eloquently described some of the pressures that families face—and veterans. We will not fail in our efforts to do the best that we can for them.
Meeting closed at 17:44.Previous
Decision Time