The UK Government has published its new Veterans’ Strategy Action Plan to help men and women of the Armed Forces to thrive after leaving service.
It is part of work by the Office of Veterans’ Affairs to make the UK the best place in the world to be a veteran by 2028.
In Scotland, a number of elements of support for veterans is devolved, such as healthcare, to the Scottish Parliament. However, much of the new action plan covers the entire UK.
One new measure will see a new Veterans UK portal introduced which will put all pension and compensation services online and significantly reduce time to respond to enquiries.
There will also be more funding for the Veterans Gateway which provides a point of contact to find support services available and for ex-servicemen and women to talk to advisors.
To improve employability, the UK Government will introduce a National Insurance contribution holiday for Service leavers, benefitting 15,000 people across the UK. This scheme will be further promoted to encourage businesses to employ veterans. The government is showing leadership on this issue by rolling out the Great Place to Work scheme, which helps support veterans into Civil Service roles.
Importantly, the government will deal with the threat of vexatious legal proceedings in relation to events which occurred on historical overseas operations through the Overseas Operations Act.
To help the Scottish Government deal with their devolved responsibilities to veterans, the UK Government is co-ordinating the collection of data from the census and will share Service Leavers Data with the Scottish Government to support their work with veterans in Scotland.
John Lamont MP said:
“This is a vital piece of work by the Ministry of Defence and the Office for Veterans’ Affairs and demonstrates a significant shift in how we support our veteran community.
“Our Armed Forces personnel show bravery and commitment to our country every day. Their important work abroad, coupled with their life saving Covid-19 testing and vaccine support here in the Scottish Borders, is testament to that.
“In return for their unwavering dedication, we must make the UK a better place to be a veteran – indeed, we are striving to be the best in the world by 2028.
“Making it easier to transfer into civilian work opportunities and making it much easier to access all of the different kinds of support available will be key to achieving this.”
Cllr John Greenwell, Scottish Borders Champion for Armed Forces and Veterans, and Member for Mid Berwickshire ward, said:
“I am delighted to see at last a UK government showing real commitment to our veterans and their families.
“Veterans have been looking for leadership from our politicians both at Westminster and Holyrood to address their needs for many years and the publication of the Veterans’ Strategy is just what is needed.
“An emphasis around sharing information to the Scottish Government so that we have a better understanding of the number of veterans living and working here will be of great help.
“Fast tracking of job opportunities for veterans will also go a long way in reducing homelessness and poverty amongst our veterans.
“I welcome the publication of the Veterans’ strategy and action plan and will be watching very closely to ensure that the actions promised actually make a difference to the lives of veterans living in Scotland.”
