Armed Services Advice Project
The next item of business is a members’ business debate on motion S4M-03049, in the name of Christina McKelvie, on the success of the armed services advice project. The debate will be concluded without any question being put.
Motion debated,
That the Parliament congratulates the Armed Services Advice Project (ASAP) on what it considers two successful years of delivering advice, information and support to the armed forces community in Scotland; notes that ASAP is delivered by Citizens Advice Bureaux (CAB) across Scotland, including by Hamilton CAB; understands that ASAP has dealt with over 6,000 issues for more than 1,400 clients in its first 21 months and gained £893,000 for its clients; believes that this is an important project and commends the group of service and non-service charities that fund it, including Poppyscotland, the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund, the Maritime Charities Funding Group, ABF the Soldiers’ Charity, Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association Forces Help, the Robertson Trust and Turn2us; considers that, while the majority of servicemen and women make a successful transition to civilian life following discharge, for a minority of veterans or their family members who experience significant problems, ASAP provides a vital source of advice and support; notes that getting the right help at the right time can make a significant contribution to helping veterans recover from problems, and looks forward to the forthcoming Citizens Advice Scotland report on veterans’ issues, which will be published to coincide with Armed Services Day.
12:32
I am delighted to be moving today’s motion for members’ business and I would like Parliament to warmly welcome the Citizens Advice Scotland report “Civvy Street: The New Frontline. Meeting the advice needs of the Armed Forces community in Scotland”. The armed services support project, or ASAP, has been piloted in a number of areas, including Fife, Dundee, Inverness, Nairn, Moray, Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire, Inverclyde and Stirling, and in conjunction with the citizens advice bureau in Hamilton in Lanarkshire. It is a partnership involving Poppyscotland, Citizens Advice Scotland and a number of other forces and non-forces charities.
The armed forces advice project was established in 2010 to provide advice and support for all members of the armed forces community, whether serving personnel, veterans or their families. It is a holistic service that supports veterans who have served their time and those who, for whatever reason, have had to leave the forces early. People who leave the forces early do not generally get the same transitional support, so the project is very important for them in particular.
ASAP is delivered by the Scottish citizens advice bureau service, which is a highly trusted network, which is very important. CAB has decades of experience of delivering a free, independent, confidential and impartial advice and information service to the general public.
I am going to give members some of the statistics that are in the report. In the period from July 2010 to March 2012—the first 21 months of the project—ASAP advisers assisted 1,769 clients with more than 6,000 issues. Approximately 84 per cent of the clients were either veterans or their dependants, while the majority of the remaining 16 per cent were serving members of the forces or their dependants. Some of the veterans had issues such as homelessness, debt, alcohol and drug dependency and post-traumatic stress disorder, and some of them were just unable to adjust to civilian life. They deserve our full support.
I am talking about homeless veterans, such as the client reported by west of Scotland citizens advice. He became homeless after serving in the Army for 20 years. He did not have family to rely on and he said that he was not prepared for society, having lived with a routine for so long. The client admitted that he had been stealing so that he could get into jail, so that he would be back in a routine. That is a very sad story indeed. He wanted a roof over his head. The client’s lawyer took him to citizens advice to get advice and stated that he had had no help in adjusting to life outside the Army.
I ask the minister to look urgently at the fact that service personnel cannot fill in housing application forms while they are still in service, even if they know their leaving date. That can lead to homelessness, or a situation called sofa surfing.
A client in another case study in the report had financial problems. He had been in the Army for 20 years and was in financial trouble. He was in full-time employment as a contract worker but borrowed to repay his debts, which he was unable to service. He had secured a loan to pay off debts, but he did not understand that the loan was secured on his home. His borrowings included payment protection insurance. He had unsecured loans of approximately £36,000 and secured loans of £48,000. On investigation, citizens advice realised that he might not really understand what his borrowings involved and that that might be due to his length of service in the Army. That is another very sad story. There are a number of case studies, which I ask members to look at.
I welcome the amendment to the motion that was lodged—it is unusual to have an amendment to a members’ business motion.
Recently, I was asked why I supported armed forces day and veterans week, given my obvious anti-war stance. The Presiding Officer and I have both participated in anti-war rallies and demonstrations. War is the last resort. Every possibility of a diplomatic solution should be exhausted before we engage in any act that results inevitably in loss of life or limb. Given that pacifist principle, I had a long hard think about why I support veterans and their families. I came to the conclusion that although I may not support Governments in their decision to go to war, I whole-heartedly believe that our armed forces deserve care and support when they have to undertake the risk of the front line.
I recently met an amazing woman called Ann Hardman, who is a constituent of mine. She may not describe herself as an amazing woman but, inevitably in this job, we come across amazing people who are very humble and do not describe themselves in those terms. Ann Hardman lost her brother, David—a member of 2 para—in the battle at Goose Green, near Darwin, on 28 May 1982.
I will put the story into context. I had the great privilege of being invited to join a delegation from throughout the United Kingdom to celebrate liberation day in the Falklands and to remember those who lost life and limb securing that liberation. Ann Hardman asked me to honour her brother David and the other fallen when I attended the many memorial services over the three days that we were there. There can be nothing more compelling than the stories of our service people who, in the face of great danger, show such determination and courage.
I also spoke to a veteran who was severely injured in the battle in which David Hardman lost his life. He had suffered years of survivor guilt. He believed that the support that he received from a number of agencies, including some of the ones involved in ASAP, had helped him to lead a good life.
I went to see Ann Hardman when I got home last week and shared with her my experiences with the people, the veterans and of course the wildlife—the penguins were very endearing. I gave Ann a number of keepsakes, which I hope will give her a different, more positive view of the Falkland Islands, other than it being a place of war and, for her, the death of her brother.
ASAP is an inspired and inspiring service. It brings hope and light at the end of what can be a dark and lonely tunnel. I was privileged to be at the launch of the Lanarkshire service in Low Parks museum, where we have an exhibit on the Cameronian regiment. There is a long military history in Hamilton, and I am delighted that the project there is going from strength to strength.
I hope that members agree that ASAP is a very worthwhile project. I felt that it was my duty to raise it in Parliament.
This week, when I think of liberation and freedom, I will be thinking of Ann Hardman, David Hardman and the many, many service personnel and families who have put their lives on the line for that freedom.
12:38
I congratulate Christine McKelvie on securing this debate during armed forces week to highlight the tremendous work that is undertaken by the ASAP project, delivered by Citizens Advice Scotland. As a member of the cross-party group on armed forces veterans, I associate myself with Christina McKelvie’s praise for those involved in providing the ASAP service and funding the work, and indeed for the excellent work that other organisations undertake on behalf of the veterans community.
The amendment that I lodged sought to highlight armed forces day, which will be held this Saturday and marked with events throughout Scotland, including in Haddington and in Stranraer in southern Scotland. I thank all members who signed the amendment, in particular those from Opposition parties, who made it possible for the debate to be heard today.
Before returning to the subject of armed forces week, I want to reflect on the contents of the Citizens Advice Scotland report, as it is a valuable source of evidence on the experiences of veterans and the wider armed forces community.
Citizens Advice Scotland has identified a number of key issues, many of which Christina McKelvie referred to. A number jumped out at me. First, and positively, most veterans are coping with the transition from a very regimented way of life to civvy street, and support for veterans is recognised as improving in Scotland and across the UK. However, among the 480,000 veterans in Scotland, 35 per cent—or 168,000—experience some difficulty. There are an estimated 363,000 adult dependants and 174,000 dependent children, and 16 per cent of veterans are estimated to experience multiple areas of need, which means that 80,000 veterans, 55,000 adults and 25,000 children may be affected. That shows the number of people for whom veterans policy has huge relevance.
Currently, the Royal British Legion estimates that 6 per cent of veterans face some welfare difficulty but do not yet seek help for it. That suggests that some 29,000 veterans and 31,000 dependants are affected and need support. Therefore, we should warmly welcome the fact that, through ASAP’s work, people—including people in areas of South Lanarkshire that fall within my South Scotland region, who might be able to access services in Hamilton—have access to expert knowledge of armed forces and veterans issues in respect of employment, finance, mental health, bereavement and other issues that Christina McKelvie referred to.
In the remainder of my time, I will focus on armed forces week and armed forces day and highlight the need for us all—regardless of our stance on deployments to particular conflict areas or on the decisions of the politicians who send troops to them, as Christina McKelvie said—to recognise the tremendous contribution that forces personnel and the wider forces family make to the people of Scotland. Members of our armed forces are hugely appreciative of demonstrations of public support for them, their families, veterans and groups such as the cadets. As my proposed amendment highlighted, personnel who return from service overseas, and while abroad, can be placed under huge pressure, and the concept of the military covenant between the politicians who send them there and our personnel is of huge value to them.
Knowing that the fact that they do our bidding and put their lives on the line for our safety and security is recognised and valued means a huge amount to them. As I saw in the annual parade of colours at Coldstream last weekend, it is very much appreciated across the political divide.
Through this debate, we can again show that this Parliament values our armed forces and their sacrifice for us, even if this place does not yet have responsibility for making such deployments.
Once again, I congratulate Christina McKelvie on highlighting this excellent project and thank all members present for helping to mark armed forces week and for their support for the armed forces community.
12:42
I welcome the opportunity once again to speak on the subject of the armed forces, veterans and the vital support services and charities that operate in Scotland and throughout the United Kingdom. I congratulate Christina McKelvie on securing the debate. Like other members, I congratulate those who operate and support ASAP. I look forward to reading CAS’s report on armed forces issues in greater depth than I have been able to in the past half hour—I thank Christina McKelvie for giving me a copy of it.
Being a member of the armed forces is immensely stressful, particularly during periods of armed conflict—stressful beyond anything that any of us can imagine. That stressful situation creates a level of commitment and an intense bond among service personnel that is unique to our armed forces in this country. I could only listen and try to comprehend when hearing from a soldier who had served in Afghanistan what it was like to come under fire and lose a fellow soldier who was as close to him as any member of his family. I can only imagine how isolated someone must feel when they are discharged from the armed forces, perhaps alone and without family, after having such a close bond with the comrades whom they fought alongside and possibly lost in combat. Going from living in close quarters with people whom they considered to be family—eating, sleeping and socialising with the same group—and being discharged into a community of strangers who tend not to understand military life and the bond that it creates must be isolating.
As the motion states, the majority of servicemen and women make a successful transition into civilian life, but it is not hard to imagine why some of our veterans struggle. The transition to civilian life can put a massive strain on family life for those who struggle to adapt, and civilian life must be one of the loneliest places in the world for those without family. There is a simple thing that I picked up from one of the quotations in the reports. People in the armed forces take cooking for granted, as meals are provided at a set time. They rely on the armed forces to provide something as simple as their diet for them so, when they are discharged, they can end up being inactive and they might not be able to cook for themselves. Something as simple as that can be a massive issue.
Therefore, it is vital that advice and support services are in place for former service personnel to adjust to living in mainstream society, and that we support plans to co-ordinate and deliver support and advice services from the private, public and voluntary sectors for ex-service personnel and their families. There are too many fantastic organisations that provide support and advice to ex-service personnel and their families to mention and to do justice to all the work that they do in a four-minute speech, but I want to mention one organisation that could give us experience of what being an armed forces reservist involves.
SaBRE—supporting Britain’s reservists and employers—gives advice and information on the extra skills that a reservist can bring to an organisation and provides weekend training courses for employers who would like to experience the sort of training that a reservist gets. It regularly holds employer weekends. Members could go and experience first-hand the sort of training that a reservist gets. I would be happy to pass on details to any member who is interested in going on one of those training weekends to get a small flavour of what our reservists do when they go away every weekend.
I will close my speech as I opened it, by offering my support and congratulations to the armed services advice project and by congratulating Christina McKelvie on securing the debate.
12:47
I refer to my register of interests in respect of my long-standing relationship with Citizens Advice Scotland and the citizens advice service in general.
I, too, congratulate Christina McKelvie on securing this debate on the success of the armed services advice project, which rightly deserved to be raised in the chamber, particularly in armed forces week.
I was still involved with the citizens advice bureau service when the armed services advice project was first mooted, and I confess that my initial reaction was not that favourable. That was not because I thought that veterans and serving personnel did not need advice—I knew that they did, and thought that the local citizens advice bureau was the place to provide it, as that is what citizens advice bureaux do. However, I was not convinced that a special project was needed, as it was likely that those people would need advice on the same issues on which most CAB clients need it—benefits, debt, employment and housing. However, after listening to Poppyscotland and other veteran organisations, I was persuaded that many veterans experience complex social and health-related issues in trying to move back into civilian life. Research suggests that many veterans experience such issues for years without accessing support or assistance. I was then convinced that a project specifically for veterans, serving personnel and their families would fill a gap and provide a vital service to an important and sometimes forgotten section of our community.
The excellent “Civvy Street: The New Frontline” report from Citizens Advice Scotland, which was published today and which Christina McKelvie referred to, demonstrates the value of the project. The report recognises that the majority of serving personnel make a successful transition to civilian life, which is good, but it also highlights that a significant minority of veterans and their families experience challenging problems. The project focuses on that minority. As we heard from Paul Wheelhouse, there are around 1 million people in the wider veteran community in Scotland, including families, so the minority is substantial.
In addition to the presenting problems, we have heard about other complex issues, such as people’s inability to find employment, their few transferable skills, their lack of a partner sometimes, their lack of financial capabilities, little or no family support, mental health issues and social isolation.
One of the things in the report that struck me is the number of veterans who face real difficulty in getting back on to civvy street. Mark Griffin referred to the regular routine for those in the services, with meals prepared for them and bills deducted straight from their pay, so that they do not have to pay them on their own. One veteran is quoted in the report as saying:
“You’ve never had to go hand and foot looking for anything, because it’s all been done for you ... You come out and it’s like a different planet… like planet of the apes.”
That is what service personnel feel.
I have heard people say many times when talking about somebody coming out of the services that at least they will be used to doing things for themselves, so they should cope all right on their own, which is a perception that is clearly well off the mark, as the report highlights.
I commend the success of the armed services advice project and congratulate all those involved with it. I hope that it continues to provide vital services to our veterans, service personnel and their families. As we approach armed forces day, I am sure that we would all like to record our gratitude to our veterans and serving personnel across the armed services and to take time to remember those who have paid the ultimate price in the course of duty. We owe them an immense debt.
12:50
Like others, I commend Christina McKelvie for bringing the debate to the chamber, particularly as this is armed forces week. I thought that she spoke with great principle on the subject. If I may say so, I do not think that anyone has to be a warmonger in any shape or form to address the issues that she brought to the chamber today. I thought that she spoke with great emotion and relevance.
I probably ought to declare an interest in that I am the convener of the cross-party group in the Scottish Parliament on armed forces veterans and a board member of the Scottish advisory board of the Royal British Legion, which is better known as Poppyscotland. I was very pleased to have been at the meeting at which it was agreed that Poppyscotland should provide considerable funding towards the armed services advice project. It might help Margaret Burgess to know that there was not one moment of hesitation or doubt about the benefits of doing so. Around the table, we all felt to a man or woman that it would be a very worthwhile service, as I think the very good report to which members have referred has proved.
The way in which the public have reacted to the sad legacy of recent conflicts and the issues for armed forces veterans has been welcome. That reaction is as heart warming as it is necessary, although obviously we would all prefer it to be otherwise. However, it is impossible not to be hugely impressed by the way in which the British public have responded to modern-day needs in that regard. One does not have to look far to see evidence of that. For example, there are the results of last year’s Poppyscotland appeal. We know all too well the economic difficulties that we are all being subjected to, but that appeal saw a rise of 14.7 per cent in its figures and brought in the sum of £2.68 million last year, not by way of corporate donation or massive sponsorship but by people putting their hands in their pockets and putting money into tins. That is an extraordinary result.
As Christina McKelvie said, extraordinary people are now doing extraordinary things for the benefit of our veterans. Of course, veterans are no longer 80 or 90 years old, as I grew up believing them to be, but 18 or 19 years old in some cases. I want to mention just two extraordinary people, if I may. The first is the remarkable Anna Baker Cresswell, who created the charity Gardening Leave. In my previous parliamentary guise, I had the great privilege of visiting the Combat Stress charity in Ayrshire. I met a veteran there, but I could not get a word out of him over lunch. He simply would not speak to me and did not want to speak to anybody. I accompanied him and others down to the garden of what was the Scottish Agricultural College Auchincruive estate, where Anna Baker Cresswell started her charity. When we got into the greenhouse that the veteran was looking after, I could not stop him talking. The transformation from somebody who did not feel able to talk for much of the time into a person who suddenly felt comfortable in his surroundings and able to talk was extraordinary and remarkable.
The other person whom I want to mention is a constituent of mine called Jennefer Tobin, who has begun a charity called Southwest Scotland RnR through which she simply provides a week’s orderly rest and recreation for servicemen returning from modern battlefields, who are often mentally injured. I asked her once how she measured success and she said that if they laugh and sleep by the end of the week, they have succeeded. Such people do extraordinary things.
In recognition of such services, I commend the great work that the armed services advice project is undertaking. It is a true partnership between CAB, Poppyscotland and all the other partners that are mentioned in the motion. The need for that work in Scotland is vividly highlighted by the briefing from Poppyscotland that members received earlier this week. I will mention just one statistic—veterans in Scotland are 10 per cent more likely to be homeless than their counterparts in England and Wales. There are other statistics that highlight the issue. This is not a party-political issue, but it is an issue that is peculiar to Scotland, and I am proud of the efforts that are made here to address it. ASAP is a vital part of those efforts. I commend the motion.
12:55
I will start with a little irreverence—if Alex Fergusson thought of veterans as being 80 or 90 years old when he was growing up, I wonder what 18th or 19th century war they must have been fighting in. Perhaps that is more a sign of how much cheekier I am prepared to be to Mr Fergusson now that he is no longer Presiding Officer.
I congratulate Christina McKelvie on securing the debate. It is on an important issue and it is particularly useful to hold it in armed forces week—Alex Fergusson made that point well. I thank Poppyscotland and Citizens Advice Scotland for the information that they provided in advance of the debate.
Like most members, I have never served in the military. Few of us—a notable exception is the minister who will speak later, Keith Brown—have served in the military. However, like almost every Scottish family, I have had family members who served in the military—my grandfather, for example, was a Seaforth Highlander during the second world war. That is not particularly unusual. I will repeat the statistic that was cited by Paul Wheelhouse and Margaret Burgess: about 1 million people make up the wider veteran community in Scotland. That is one in five of the population. That shows the reach of military families across the nation.
It is right that service personnel are catered for and looked after during and after their military service. Christina McKelvie made the point well—we do not need to support any particular military action that those personnel may be involved in, but we should always support those serving. For a long time, the state has not done enough in that regard.
Christina McKelvie told a sad story about the ex-serviceman who was deliberately seeking to be imprisoned—it sounds as though that individual has moved on and has the support that they need, but that story is a stark example of the lack of support.
Various statistics are available. In 1994, Crisis estimated that approximately a quarter of all single homeless people had served in the UK armed forces. Glasgow Homeless Partnership surveyed the local single homeless population and found that 12 per cent reported that they had previously served in the armed forces. The Howard League for Penal Reform also set out that a disproportionately high percentage of the prison population are ex-service personnel. A survey by the probation officers’ union revealed that, in 2009, 10 per cent of the UK prison population were former military personnel—that is about 8,500 men in jail.
Soldiers returning from combat report an 18 per cent increase in alcohol abuse and the rate of post-traumatic stress disorder among servicemen returning from Iraq and Afghanistan is 4.8 per cent, with other forms of mental illness reported at 27.2 per cent. That could be an underestimate, because some soldiers may not come forward.
There are issues with this group of individuals, so I welcome the Citizens Advice Scotland report “Civvy Street: The New Frontline”. It is useful in assessing where we are in terms of meeting the needs of those who served and their families. The report’s conclusion sets out that, although assistance from the Government and local authorities is better now, there are still those who need that assistance. The armed services advice project is a good example of the support that can be given and I congratulate those who are involved. I hope that it is a project that can be rolled out further and that other areas can benefit beyond the pilot area—including my own area. I wish those involved well for the future and I congratulate Christina McKelvie on securing the debate.
12:59
I, too, congratulate Christina McKelvie on securing this debate on the importance of the armed services advice project. The debate is a great opportunity to publicise the Citizens Advice Scotland report “Civvy Street: The New Frontline” and the service that citizens advice bureaux provide. I believe that all MSPs and their staff should know about it.
It is important that dependants of current and previous forces personnel know about the project and the wide and varied number of organisations that are available to provide help. Knowledge of this one-stop shop would have been helpful to one of my constituents, whose husband, who had formerly been in the Army, tragically committed suicide as a result of post-traumatic stress disorder. Unfortunately, because of unemployment, the family had cancelled insurance plans and, as a result, lost the house that they owned and found themselves in temporary accommodation and then council accommodation, a situation that the widow and her family found traumatic. Sadly, my constituent contacted me only 18 months or so after that had happened.
I make the minister aware of the case because I have concerns that dependants and former personnel who are perhaps not near the voluntary organisations’ centres face greater challenges in accessing help. For example, my constituent’s husband was asked to travel from the north-east to the central belt for counselling, despite the fact that agoraphobia was part of his mental health problems. Similarly, my constituent was not made aware of the availability of housing in the central belt for widows in her situation. Indeed, she might have been eligible for help with her mortgage and been able to stay in her home.
The Citizens Advice Scotland document “Advice and information for the Armed Forces Community” lists the wide range of organisations that can help. I stress that ex-service personnel and their dependants might need help at any time after service—there is no limit. My constituent’s husband had been out of the Army for many decades. Many organisations are available to help, but the one-stop-shop service from citizens advice bureaux must be made available throughout Scotland. I look forward to the minister’s reply.
13:03
As other members have done, I congratulate Christina McKelvie on securing this debate on what is an excellent initiative from Citizens Advice Scotland. I also welcome members’ comments, which illustrate the keen interest in the Parliament in the support and welfare needs of our veterans community in Scotland. To repeat a point that I made during the previous debate on veterans, it is appreciated by veterans and by those in the armed forces that there is such a consensus on the issue, or at least on what we have to try to do for veterans.
When I was first elected to the Parliament, I very much enjoyed the confusion that the then Presiding Officer, Alex Fergusson, had in trying to tell me and Jamie Hepburn apart. Of course, the reason why I very much enjoyed that comparison was that Jamie Hepburn’s grandfather served with the Seaforth Highlanders in the second world war and my grandfather served with the Black Watch in the first world war.
Will the minister give way?
Certainly.
It is just so that I can put on the record that I enjoyed the confusion rather less.
In the past few months, several members have lodged motions congratulating Citizens Advice Scotland on the armed services advice project, or ASAP. Today’s debate has enabled us to acknowledge publicly the success of ASAP, which is important. Initiatives by national third sector organisations such as Citizens Advice Scotland are widely acknowledged as examples of forward thinking and collaborative working that have a significant impact on the ground and which deliver help, support and tangible results to those who face a disadvantage. That is an important point. I hope to visit Stirling citizens advice bureau on 19 July.
Will the minister commend the work of Scottish War Blinded, which provides not only rehabilitation services to those who lose their sight during conflict but outreach services to those who, as Maureen Watt suggested, do so many decades later, giving them information and advice that are essential to their wellbeing?
I certainly commend Scottish War Blinded on its work. Dennis Robertson’s intervention underlines my point that many different organisations across the country provide services. They might not be directly involved with the Scottish Government but they work on their own merits. Many of them, including Scottish War Blinded, have been around for many years and we acknowledge the work that they carry out.
ASAP is a free, independent and confidential advice service that is available to serving personnel, veterans and their families, regardless of where they live in Scotland—although I take on board Maureen Watt’s point. The Scottish Government does not provide these services directly, but we must as far as possible ensure that veterans throughout Scotland are able to draw on available services.
ASAP’s specialist advice is available through appropriate signposting and is only a phone call away. Initial advice is available on a national helpline—0845 231 0300—and, after that, veterans can get an appointment with an adviser at a designated CAB. This excellent, intuitive and well-designed tool makes the right connections with organisations and agencies that have expertise of direct benefit to those who need it and provides the right people to assist with benefits inquiries; debt and money management advice; housing issues, to which I will return in a moment; work-related problems; consumer issues; and help in coping with relationships.
In response to Alex Fergusson’s point about the preponderance of veterans in the homelessness figures, I point out that we have been tackling homelessness directly. For example, as was made clear during First Minister’s questions, the level of homelessness dropped by almost a fifth over the past year while, south of the border, there was a substantial increase. We have managed to reduce those figures in the teeth both of a recession and of certain welfare reforms that have increased homelessness south of the border. If Mr Fergusson has more information on the figure that he mentioned—more than 10 per cent, I believe—I would be interested in hearing it.
In order to tackle this issue more effectively, we need more effective joint working between those who help veterans, the Scottish Government and the Ministry of Defence. We have certainly had a great deal of co-operation from those at the very top of the armed forces, who have made it very clear that they are keen to work with us; and Veterans Scotland has said the same. However, if the MOD and the Scottish Government can engage more effectively, we will be able to pick up certain issues, particularly the point highlighted by Christina McKelvie about the ability of members of the armed forces to apply for housing.
I hope that the minister will accept that I was not trying to make a political point or, indeed, any criticism of the Scottish Government’s housing or homelessness policies, particularly in relation to the armed forces. The Scottish Government and the Parliament are both highly regarded by the armed forces as being open, accessible and doing everything they can to help. However, although I was not making a party-political point, the fact remains that ex-servicemen are 10 per cent more likely to be homeless in Scotland than they are in other parts of the United Kingdom and, despite the Government’s laudable efforts to address the matter, that must surely be a matter for concern.
I take Alex Fergusson’s point. All I am saying is that I would like more information. I know that that has been the case in the past when there have been substantial reductions in the homelessness figures but it seems counterintuitive that that should continue to be the case.
As part of my work with the MOD, I have recently visited two bases. The visits were not public; I had gone along with the intention of asking serving personnel to give me their views and to highlight certain issues, particularly with regard to leaving the service. In one base, the tables were turned on me and I had around 40 personnel from the different ranks asking me what the Scottish Government was able to do. Housing came up repeatedly, but often their questions were less about what the Scottish Government could do before personnel left the service and more about what the MOD could do with regard to, for example, housing grants, which are available only in certain parts of the country. It was extremely useful for me to realise where we have more work to do and to get an idea of serving personnel’s concerns.
The statistics in the motion make very impressive reading. Christina McKelvie mentioned some of them: ASAP has helped more than 1,400 clients in 21 months and addressed 6,000 issues. I am particularly struck by the fact that it has secured almost £900,000 in additional benefits for those who access the service. That is a successful project by any description and I congratulate all the advisers in each CAB on their considerable achievement.
It is only right that the other partners in the project are congratulated on their foresight and commitment, and on their support of ASAP. First and foremost the role of Poppyscotland must be applauded, as Alex Fergusson mentioned. The staff from that veterans charity work very closely with CAS and it is entirely appropriate to acknowledge the fantastic work that Ian McGregor and his staff have done to move the project forward. It is also right that we acknowledge the other funders. There are many, which demonstrates the faith that they put into ASAP. I welcome the contributions and support of the other veterans charities mentioned in the motion.
I am sure that members would also wish me to record the role of the Scottish Government in the project, which is a minor part, but integral nevertheless. We contribute to the Scottish veterans fund just more than £6,000 towards the cost of booklets for advisers, which has helped to build the library of information that has proved to be so invaluable. I am pleased that we have made a contribution to that.
Of course, ASAP is a tool to be used to assist those who face difficulties when transiting from military to civilian life or who experience problems some years after discharge. Mark Griffin spoke about some of those challenges for service personnel and I should challenge one of his points. Service personnel often cook for themselves, although that tends to be in circumstances where they have ready-made food products in the field. He is right to say that when service personnel move into a tenancy or new housing arrangements they face a challenge of home economics. The armed forces could do more about that while people are still serving.
I look forward to reading the CAB report on veterans’ issues, which was published today. I am sure that it will provide valuable insight into particular needs and aspirations. Members will be interested to know that yesterday I met with Colonel Martin Gibson, who is chairman of Veterans Scotland. Once again, he congratulated the Scottish Government for its inclusive, supportive and effective raft of programmes, which was developed to support our armed forces and veterans community.
Last year I announced in the chamber that the Government would publish a road map, which would set out our future plans for the planning and delivery of support and advice services. That road map is almost ready and I will write to all members shortly.
Please come to a conclusion.
I am sorry. I am taking a bit longer than I intended because I took three interventions.
As Paul Wheelhouse mentioned, it is important that we acknowledge armed forces week. I went to armed forces day in Stirling on Saturday and I will go to armed forces day in Edinburgh this week. The interests of serving armed forces personnel and veterans are served by ASAP, which is a fantastic project, and the motion sums up its success very well. It is a vital source of advice and support, and it succeeds in exactly what it sets out to do. It makes a significant contribution to help veterans recover from problems and it should be commended.
13:13
Meeting suspended.
14:15
On resuming—