Progress

We will consider additional interventions and activity to improve employment and skills-related advice and support for veterans and their families when more detailed Census data is published.

Work continues to access, analyse and collate the data now available across a range of sources, in order to enhance understanding about the characteristics, circumstances and needs of veterans in Scotland. The resulting report will offer insights into key themes such as community and relationships, employment, education and skills, health and wellbeing, and housing. This work is also considering the challenges with assessing difference between veterans and non-veterans, and will look to provide advice on how such data can be best interpreted.

We will promote Scottish Government-funded employability support in Welcome to Scotland.

SG-funded employability support continues to be referenced within Welcome to Scotland, signposting veterans and their families to the support available in their local authority area. Each local authority has employability services in place which are required to consider and respond to user and local labour market needs. We continue to share this information with both CTP and the Families Federations for wider distribution across their networks.

Welcome to Scotland can be accessed here: Welcome to Scotland - Welcome to Scotland: a guide for Service personnel and their families in Scotland (updated 2025) - gov.scot

We will ensure that Scotland’s apprenticeship suite of offerings will continue to be promoted to the veterans and Armed Forces community.

The Scottish Government remain committed to actively promoting Scotland’s Apprenticeship programmes to veterans and the wider Armed Forces community, ensuring they are aware of and are able to access the full range of opportunities available across the apprenticeship family.

Our multi-year programme to reform the post-school education and skills system underpinned by the Tertiary Education and Training (Scotland) Act 2026, will support delivery of our four key priorities: eradicating child poverty; boosting the economy; tackling climate change; and delivering high quality, efficient public services. This reform programme is driving coherence, agility and efficiency across the system, simplifying learner journeys and ensuring that public investment delivers maximum value for Scotland’s people and economy.

As part of this reform, we are simplifying the funding body landscape by bringing together responsibility and funding for apprenticeships, colleges and universities within the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) from April 2027, while consolidating student support within Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS). This will create a more coherent and sustainable system, improve transparency, and strengthen responsiveness to learner and employer needs.

We are also taking forward wider changes enabled by the TET Act, including the development of new national skills planning arrangements, strengthened careers support, and new governance arrangements for apprenticeships.

Work is underway to strengthen the evidence base across Foundation, Modern and Graduate Apprenticeships alongside a review of Modern Apprenticeship contribution rates to ensure funding is sustainable, transparent and aligned with delivery costs, labour market needs and learner outcomes.

Our approach to apprenticeship reform is guided by three core aims: reducing complexity; increasing transparency; and maximising the value of investment to learners and the economy. We are also committed to ensuring stability and continuity during this transition, with existing delivery models largely maintained in the short term as reforms are implemented.

Skills Development Scotland (SDS) provides service leavers and veterans with Careers Information, Advice and Guidance (CIAG) services and this includes referring to ELCAS funding. 

Enhanced Learning Credit Scheme (ELCAS) is a UK-wide service entitlement, so re-examining the support packages would be led by the MOD.

Skills Development Scotland continues to refer individuals to ELCAS funding, to work with colleagues across careers information & advice, and employability support, across the armed forces community (e.g. Careers Transition Partnership, Forces Employment Charity, Officers’ Association Scotland, Veterans Scotland) and will be hosting a Career-long Professional Learning day for those working in this field in October 2026.

Employability support

No One Left Behind is an all-age employability approach aimed at those with barriers to employment. This support is designed and delivered through the Local Employability Partnership in each Local Authority area and offers specific support that meets the needs of that local area. Veterans are named as a priority group for this support given the well-established barriers to employment. We are continuing to gather data on the number of veterans accessing this support and will consider how we can more effectively share success stories from our services in relation to supporting veterans.

The Scottish Government Employability Division attended the Veterans Scotland Employment Group (VESG) on 3 September 2026, setting out how ‘No One Left Behind’, the wider employment strategy for Scotland, supports the employment of veterans. SG Employability Division and SG Veterans Unit are also convening a one-off strategic meeting, to take stock of current activity and assess whether further action or strategic direction is required in this area. The Scottish Government is also considering the content of the most recent report from the Commissioner noting that, while there are no recommendations, the concluding reflections offer insight into opportunities for Scotland. 

We have increased funding to Veterans Scotland to carry out their role in co-ordinating the work of veterans organisations and statutory providers.

Funding to Veterans Scotland has been increased by over 30% to enable them to continue their working groups on Health, Employment and Housing and to expand their work into increasing the coordination of support to veterans in the Justice system.

We will encourage collaborative working through the Scottish Veterans Fund.

The Scottish Veterans Fund has been increased from £500k per annum to £600k per annum for the next three years. Following a successful application round, we are currently funding 30 projects across the country, many of which are either explicitly collaborative or have been encouraged to work with other providers.

Examples of funded projects:

Forces Employment Charity – The NOVA Scotland Programme supports veterans in contact with the Scottish Justice System, with the overarching aim of reducing reoffending, facilitating reintegration into the community, and encouraging a successful transition into a sustainable, crime-free lifestyle, in part by supporting veterans on their journey to employment. This support is delivered by a Caseworker with lived experience of the Armed Forces, working directly with individuals to understand their needs and build an action plan.

Scottish Veterans Residences (SVR)- The FO(OT)HOLD uses Occupational Therapy to improve the mental health and employment prospects of homeless veterans in supported housing, delivering well-being and societal dividends. SVR offers vulnerable, homeless veterans a chance to reset, grow in confidence and gain a foothold in their return to independence and employment. Using established working relationships with veteran-friendly employers, and training opportunities through the OT and Activities Programme which includes relationships with healthcare professionals and other training providers, FO(OT)HOLD will improve vocational and employment outcomes for homeless veterans. The project will also highlight the key benefits of employing veterans and harnessing their skillset.

Review of Housing Adaptations in Scotland.

Scottish Government are currently reviewing the housing adaptations system to promote fairer access to funding for, and delivery of, adaptations regardless of housing tenure and location. Any barriers or challenges identified for veterans will be considered as part of this review.

Funding continues to be available through the Scottish Government’s Affordable Housing Supply Programme to deliver homes specifically for veterans, where local authorities identify this as a strategic priority.

In early 2026, the Highland Council received a grant award of £1.184 million from the Affordable Housing Supply Programme to support the delivery of eight new homes for social rent at St Valery Avenue, Inverness. Two of these homes are being developed specifically for veterans. In addition, during spring 2026, Veterans Housing Scotland was awarded grant funding of almost £0.616 million through the programme to support the external refurbishment of 16 residential dwellings at Curzon Street, Glasgow.

Refreshed and updated Local Housing Strategy guidance was published and issued to local authorities in March 2026.

The Local Housing Strategy guidance makes clear that local authorities should fully consider the housing requirement of the Armed Forces and Veterans Community and ensure appropriate engagement with relevant organisations in the development of a Local Housing Strategy. The guidance also makes clear local authority duties under the Armed Forces Covenant to ensure that veterans experience no disadvantage as a result of their services career.

The Scottish Government has committed to enhancing the accessibility, adaptability and usability of Scotland’s new build homes.

During Stage 3 of the Housing (Scotland) Bill, the Scottish Government reaffirmed its commitment to introduce an all-tenure Accessible Homes Standard within two years. The Scottish Government has prioritised this work in its 100-day commitment to commission an update of the design guidance for accessible homes. Specialist consultants have now been appointed to support the review and modernisation of the Housing for Varying Needs design guide and progress our commitment to deliver a new all-tenure Scottish Accessible Homes Standard through updates to building standards and guidance.

This marks the completion of the commissioning phase with our focus now on developing updated design guidance. A dedicated Working Group bringing together industry stakeholders and people with lived experience will help shape the future direction of this work ahead of public consultation on detailed proposals in early 2027.

Serving members of the Armed Forces and veterans have priority access to the Low-cost Initiative for First Time Buyers schemes (LIFT). 

The Scottish Government’s flagship Low-cost Initiative for First Time Buyers (LIFT) schemes help people get onto the property ladder. The schemes are designed to make buying a home in Scotland more achievable for those on low to moderate incomes, with members of the Armed Forces and veterans continuing to have priority access to the schemes.

LIFT is comprised of two elements, New Supply Shared Equity (NSSE) and Open Market Shared Equity (OMSE). OMSE is a scheme targeted at those on low to moderate incomes to purchase a home at the more affordable end of the market. Under OMSE veterans who have left the armed forces within a certain time period are classed as a priority access group and therefore do not need to be first time buyers in order to be able to apply to the scheme.

OMSE uptake:

Work continues at pace to prevent and end homelessness for all those in housing precarity. The Homelessness Prevention and Strategy Group oversees our progress towards ending homelessness, including the work we do to support groups at greater risk of homelessness.

We accepted all 24 recommendations from the prevention pathway in principle. 10 recommendations are for the Scottish Government to implement, all of which are complete or underway, and the Veterans Scotland Housing Group has agreed to drive forward the recommendations aimed at other organisations.

Scottish Government related recommendations that have been progressed include changing legislation through the Housing (Scotland) Act 2025 so that local authorities are required to take action up to 6 months before homelessness appears imminent. This helps to ensure service leavers receive support to prevent homelessness during their normal discharge period.

Scottish Government Officials have worked with the Veterans Scotland Housing Group to identify the 5 top key priorities from the pathway recommendations to ensure limited resources are deployed to best effect. This includes reviewing the provision of housing and homelessness information by all 32 local authorities and reminding local authorities of their duties on the Armed Forces Covenant.

We continue to engage with local authorities, COSLA, ALACHO and social landlords representative organisations, primarily looking at the recommendations in the pathway aimed at local authorities and social landlords to understand the best approach for action.

On 27 November 2025, the former Cabinet Secretary for Housing sent a letter to housing providers to highlight the recommendations in the report that relate to them. This includes encouraging local authorities and housing associations to ask a veterans question as part of their housing application or housing options process, as well as encouraging local authorities and housing associations to nominate Armed Forces Officers with their staff.

We will keep in contact with relevant organisations, including the MOD’s Defence Primary Healthcare, with a view to facilitating progress where possible.

There has not been substantial tangible progress made since the last update. Wider concerns around the transfer of medical records from and into the NHS remain live issues; NHS National Services Scotland has - since the 2025 update - moved into a new body, Public Services Delivery (PSD) Scotland, and it is hoped that there will be a renewed focus on achieving the aims under this recommendation.

Defence Primary Healthcare (DPHC) and other stakeholders will work with PSD Scotland on the issues under this recommendation. Scottish Government officials will seek regular updates from those involved in this work to help facilitate progress.

We will roll out the Armed Forces and Veterans General Practice Recognition Scheme across Scotland and provide appropriate training materials to practices.

We have seen continued progress over the past year 2025/26, with 47 practices now registered, representing a slight increase since last year, although this still equates to around 5.2% of GP practices across Scotland. While GP services continue to operate under significant pressure, officials have engaged with BMA Scotland and other stakeholders to identify appropriate and sensitive routes to promote veterans’ health initiatives.

Promotion of the scheme this year has been strengthened through a coordinated programme of activity. This has included joint engagement with RCGP Scotland, who have committed to promoting the scheme through their communication channels, alongside ongoing outreach through Primary Care newsletters, Practice Manager networks, and NHS Inform. A dedicated GP Recognition Scheme logo has been developed to improve visibility for patients, and a comprehensive training pack is now available for registered practices, including guidance for both clinical and non-clinical staff, patient-facing materials, and signposting to relevant support organisations. Work is also underway to develop digital content for patient waiting areas and to showcase the scheme at national NHS events. Further action is planned to accelerate uptake. We have invested £20,000 in April 2026 to support a Veterans Scotland-led GP Recognition Acceleration Scheme in 2026/27. Veterans Scotland have appointed a dedicated GP champion to drive engagement and significantly increase participation to 50% by end of the financial year 2026/27.

Alongside this, 2025/26 updates highlighted the development of a TURAS learning offer for GP trainees, designed to embed awareness of Armed Forces and veterans’ health needs early in the workforce pipeline. Building on this, the nominated GP advocate for the forthcoming Recognition Scheme Acceleration Programme has strong links within university settings, providing an opportunity to further expand and strengthen engagement at undergraduate and postgraduate training level. We therefore intend to develop additional work in this area to complement the existing TURAS programme and support a more sustainable increase in awareness and uptake over time.

Secondary care training uptake has also increased, with the number of staff completing Armed Forces and Veterans training rising from 17 to 41 individuals across 11 NHS Boards. While overall participation remains modest, the increase suggests growing awareness of the training offer within secondary care settings.

Further work is required to achieve broader and more consistent engagement across all NHS Boards. The planned publication of the Covenant Standards Framework in 2027 will provide an opportunity to further promote training as an important enabler of Armed Forces Covenant delivery and to support continued improvements in uptake

As previously reported, we have continued to promote the importance of identifying members of the Armed Forces Community to support the delivery of safe, effective and person-centred care. Work has also been undertaken to strengthen data validation processes, helping to improve the accuracy of reporting on progress.

We will continue to progress the priorities of the Strategic Oversight Group, including the implementation of the Veterans In Service Injury Network.

The Armed Forces Personnel and Veterans Health Implementation Group (IG) has continued to make progress against the priorities assigned by the Strategic Oversight Group (SOG) for 2025/26.

Development of the General Practice Armed Forces and Veterans Recognition Scheme:

Update as above.

Establishment of the Veterans In Service Injury Network (VISIN):

The Veterans In Service Injury Network (VISIN) was formally launched in August 2025, with NHS Highland acting as the host Board and national co-ordinator. The network supports veterans in receiving specialist review of injuries and conditions arising from their service. Early activity shows that eight referrals have been considered across two multidisciplinary team (MDT) meetings, with a further two ready to proceed and one awaiting additional information.

Initial data from NHS Highland indicates that the majority of cases involved complex presentations, most commonly musculoskeletal conditions with chronic pain, alongside other conditions such as functional neurological disorder and hearing loss. Mental health needs, while not within scope of VISIN, have also been identified and signposted appropriately.

Officials continue to work with the VISIN team and the Veterans Mental Health Pathway to explore alignment between the two services. While there has been a reduction in referrals in recent months, further promotion is planned, including through Armed Forces Week and established communication channels such as Primary Care newsletters and the Practice Managers Group.

Improving identification of veterans across healthcare:

Update provided at Recommendation 16.

Development of a Covenant Standards Framework:

Development of the Covenant Standards Framework has progressed, with officials working in collaboration with NHS Highland and Defence Medical Welfare Services.

The Framework establishes a national set of standards to support NHS Boards in delivering their Armed Forces Covenant obligations. The standards focus on:

• leadership and governance
• staff training and identification of the Armed Forces community
• clear care pathways and access to support services
• compassionate and culturally informed bereavement care for families and children

The Framework is designed to support consistent, equitable and person-centred care across Scotland. Engagement with NHS Boards is ongoing, with plans to test the Framework with a small number of Boards for six months before wider implementation. Subject to this, publication is anticipated in early 2027.

Consideration of Armed Forces families in policy and delivery:

Consideration of Armed Forces families continues to be strengthened through the Covenant Standards Framework. This is most clearly reflected within Standard Four (Bereavement), which sets out expectations for NHS Boards to provide person-centred, holistic care to bereaved Armed Forces families, recognising the unique circumstances surrounding military-related deaths. This includes improved identification and recording, access to tailored bereavement support (including for children), and support for families who may need to relocate following a death in service. In addition, although VISIN is specifically for veterans, outputs from the pathway include signposting to wider support organisations for families, such as The Ripple Pond. 

In 2024, we established a new Veterans Mental Health Advisory Group to oversee the development of the Veterans Mental Health & Wellbeing Pathway and the implementation of the principles of the Veterans Mental Health & Wellbeing Action Plan.

The final version of the Veterans Mental Health and Wellbeing Framework was approved by Scottish Ministers and published in March 2026, setting out expectations for service delivery. It aims to ensure that veterans in Scotland can access the right support for their mental health and wellbeing from the right person, at the right time. The framework can be found at: Veterans Mental Health and Wellbeing Pathway: national framework - summary - gov.scot

The three short-life working groups (SLWGs) established by the Advisory Group to consider distinct areas (peer support, performance metrics, and the development of a digital hub) submitted their final recommendations.

We have communicated to key stakeholders the core principles that will guide our transition to the new model. Central to these is the commitment to the appropriate continuation of existing service provision, ensuring that veterans are not left without support at any stage throughout this process. We will continue to fund Veterans First Point services (V1Ps) until the end of March 2027. This approach reflects feedback from V1Ps who highlighted the need for sufficient time to adapt to the new model and implement any necessary reconfigurations, and we will continue to work with V1Ps throughout this period to support any practical challenges arising from the transition.

We have issued an Invitation To Tender to procure for a regional spoke providing a national wraparound service to support veterans with less complex mental health and wellbeing needs. This contract represents an initial step in operationalising the principles of the Framework.

As the pathway moves towards implementation phase, Scottish Government officials are reviewing and refining governance arrangements. A key function of the newly established groups established will be to incorporate the recommendations of the short-life working groups into deliverable outputs. In order to support implementation and ensure appropriate oversight, collaboration and stakeholder engagement as the programme progresses. A new governance structure must bring together the right mix of appropriate expertise, experience and perspectives to inform discussions and support decision making needed to help us deliver the pathway, and is expected to include:

• An Oversight and Delivery Group to provide strategic leadership, decision-making and risk management.
• A Statutory Services Delivery Group to support collaboration across NHS Boards, local authorities and other statutory partners.
• A Third Sector and Lived Experience Stakeholder Forum to facilitate ongoing engagement, feedback and information sharing.
• A Strategic Reference Group to provide expert advice and constructive challenge.

The pathway is expected to become operational in October 2026 with the commencement of the contract for the provider of the regional spokes, delivering a wraparound service across Scotland. Further elements of the pathway, including the digital hub, are expected to be implemented thereafter, with the hub currently anticipated to launch in early 2027. The milestones below represent current planning assumptions and are provided for context but will be subject to refinement as implementation progresses and governance arrangements are established.

Continue to embed and monitor the requirement for all veterans organisations that receive grant funding from the Veterans Unit to commit to working towards obtaining a relevant kitemark or otherwise which demonstrates inclusivity and accessibility for the LGBTQI+ community.

Scottish Government Veterans Unit continue to work with partners to embed this requirement across the activities of grant recipients now that it is a condition for funding for all new grants. All Veterans Unit grants awarded in 2026 are subject to the following condition “The Grantee shall be a member of or join a Relevant Accreditation Scheme, or implement policies, procedures and good practice out with a relevant accreditation scheme, which demonstrates the Grantee’s commitment to inclusivity and accessibility for the LGBTQI+ community.” Mid-year reports (due in October 2026) will be used to monitor whether obligations are being met.

We will continue to provide grant funding to Veterans Scotland.

Veterans Scotland’s grant for this financial year (which was increased by 30% compared to 2025/26) includes an outcome to deliver better recognition and representation of female veterans at all levels including underlying policy, service organisation and structure, and design and delivery, to better support the wellbeing of female veterans.

Data on veterans has become available from the 2022 Census and a range of other sources in 2024 and 2025.

Scottish Government analysts are using this data to enhance our understanding of the veterans and the circumstances they live in.

Work to access, analyse and collate the data now available across a range of sources to enhance understanding about the characteristics, circumstances and needs of veterans in Scotland has continued. The resulting report will offer insights into key themes such as community and relationships, employment, education and skills, health and wellbeing, and housing. This work is also considering the challenges with assessing difference between veterans and non-veterans and will look to provide advice on how such data can be best interpreted.

Role for policy areas carrying out activity for veterans to either provide assurance that families are included, or to expand polices to do so, e.g. homelessness, mental health, housing/social housing, health, education, benefits, etc.

Updated Local Housing Strategy (LHS) guidance was published on the SG website in March 2026 requiring local authorities to fully consider the housing requirements of the armed forces/veterans community. Specifically, it requires local authorities to demonstrate that consideration has been given the to the needs of the veteran community including spouses, partners, children and the bereaved and that engagement has taken place with relevant organisations such as Veterans Scotland and the local authority’s Armed Forces and Veterans Champion.

We have invested £20,000 in April 2026 to support a Veterans Scotland-led GP Recognition Acceleration Scheme in 2026/27. Veterans Scotland have appointed a dedicated GP champion to drive engagement and significantly increase participation to 50% by end of the financial year 2026/27. As part of this funding, Veterans Scotland are running a ‘Say You Served’ campaign to encourage the Armed Forces Community to self-identify within a health setting which includes family members.

Alongside this, 2025/26 updates highlighted the development of a TURAS learning offer for GP trainees, designed to embed awareness of Armed Forces and veterans’ health needs early in the workforce pipeline. Building on this, the nominated GP advocate for the forthcoming Recognition Scheme Acceleration Programme has strong links within university settings, providing an opportunity to further expand and strengthen engagement at undergraduate and postgraduate training level. We therefore intend to develop additional work in this area to complement the existing TURAS programme and support a more sustainable increase in awareness and uptake over time.

The Armed Forces Talent Programme (AFTP) takes a whole-community approach and actively recognises and understands the skills, experience and contribution of spouses, partners and dependants, not solely veterans and service leavers. They are included in our engagement initiatives, webinars, placement opportunities, and outreach activity, with the AFTP actively seeking to ensure that employment opportunities and resources are relevant and accessible to the wider Armed Forces Community, including Armed Forces families. We continue to champion partnership within NHS Scotland and with external organisations (e.g. Career Transition Partnership (CTP), Forces Families Jobs (FFJ), Armed Forces Families (AFF), Forces Employment Charity (FEC), Poppyscotland) to further support our work to achieve meaningful outcomes for spouses, partners and dependants.

Ensure that mechanisms are in place across Scottish Government policy areas and wider public sector to support sharing of best practise, identification of challenges and consistency of support.

The Scottish Armed Forces Education Support Group (SAFESG), chaired by Scottish Government education officials, meets quarterly to discuss issues in education support in the armed forces community and the unique challenges faced by children of veterans and serving personnel across Scotland and share best practice.

Scottish Government anticipate that Valour Field Officers will facilitate the exchange of good practice, working with existing statutory and third sector organisations, in order to drive consistency of experience and outcomes for veterans and the Armed Forces community.

Further action is planned to accelerate uptake of the GP Recognition Scheme across Scotland. We have invested £20,000 to support a Veterans Scotland-led GP Recognition Acceleration Scheme in 2026/27 in which we will have oversight via the SG Implementation Group and Strategic Oversight Group.

The Scottish Government is continuing to fund Veterans Scotland (VS) who propose to deliver the following outcomes this year:

• A coordinated, evidence led framework for multi-agency collaboration that improves consistency, accountability and decision making across the Armed Forces and Veterans support system.
• Further development of VS convener role, facilitating, steering, negotiating and mediating, plus encouraging and enticing working group members to commit.
• Improved awareness, adoption and consistency of Covenant delivery across Scotland.
• Stronger, more coordinated third sector engagement across the prison estate ensures consistent access to support and improved continuity of care before and after release.

Veterans Scotland’s work this year is intended to deliver an integrated framework of multi-organisational collaborative working groups tracked by measurable objectives to optimise service provision and available resources in each functional area. (Health, Housing, Employment).

Veterans Scotland’s work will also include the creation of an online toolkit for Local Authority Champions to ensure continuity of service, best practice and ongoing improvement to services at local and regional level.

Veterans are suitably supported as they transition from a custodial to a community setting

Upon admission to prison, individuals are asked if they are a veteran as part of their initial interview and this is recorded on the prisoner records system. They can also identify themselves at any point during their sentence.

During this process, the following information is recorded:  

• what armed force they served in
• service number; service rank
• where they were last stationed and whether they are still serving

Individuals leaving prison following a short sentence or period on remand are eligible to make use of the Upside throughcare service. For those individuals identified as veterans, Upside staff will incorporate this into their personalised support plan. This could include engagement with the Veterans Mentoring Service run by Sacro, which can provide tailored practical and emotional support (see update at recommendation 28 for more details).

Data on the self-declared armed forces history of prisoners is published as part of the Scottish Government’s annual Scottish Prison Population Statistics. The Scottish Government’s ongoing evidence collation will consider key findings from this data and highlight its availability. The data is also available through the Prison Statistics Interactive Analysis Tool. This enables users to conduct further analysis on prisoners who are veterans, for example age breakdowns and offence groups.

The Scottish Government have received the following update from Police Scotland:

• Police Scotland has accelerated early intervention by embedding NOVA Scotland trauma-informed specialists directly into police custody suites. Enabled by robust Information Sharing Agreements, this national partnership ensures veterans are identified early and provided with explicit referral pathways. Every identified individual receives a bespoke care plan which may cover issues with mental health, housing, or substance misuse, closing the gap between custody and community resettlement to proactively reduce reoffending.

Delivery partners increase staff awareness.

Members of the Justice Board were asked for comments on their policies and processes, in relation to increasing staff awareness in order to increase the support that they can offer to veterans.

• Within the prison estate, the Scottish Prison Service has sought to address awareness by implementing the Scottish Trauma Informed Leaders Training (STILT) for all Senior Managers across the Prison Estate. Several establishments, HMP Low Moss, HMP Perth, HMP Barlinnie and HMP Castle Huntly have built a remembrance garden with input from VICSOs and veterans in prisons. Every Remembrance Day a service is held for staff and residents, supported by chaplaincy. Information booklets for veterans in establishments without internet is a project that remains on-going.
• Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) also has a strong trauma-informed foundation, aligned closely with the NHS Trauma Knowledge and Skills Framework, ensuring employees at every level have the appropriate skills, knowledge, and behaviours.

The Scottish Government have received the following update from Police Scotland:

• Police Scotland has increased staff awareness by embedding Veterans Champions across all local policing divisions and the custody estate to support personnel in understanding the unique psychological and social challenges faced by veterans. To expand this capability, Police Scotland is currently collaborating with emergency services colleagues, the Defence Medical Welfare Service, and Edinburgh Napier University’s Centre for Military Research and Education to develop and standardise veteran awareness and support training across all blue light services.

Retention of VICSO role. 

Every Scottish Prison Service (SPS) prison has a dedicated VICSO officer, many of whom are ex-military. SPS would be supportive of the VICSO as a full-time post but has been managing a large and complex population for a sustained period of time and has been unable to progress this matter at this time, although remain committed to retaining the VICSO service.

The Veteran Lead in SPS holds biannual meetings that bring together all VICSOs from across the prison estate, together with third sector and statutory services that support veterans in custody. The Scottish Veterans Commissioner also attends this.

Bring together third sector providers to support veterans in the justice space to offer support both in and out of custody. 

The Scottish Veterans Fund has been increased from £500k per annum to £600k per annum for the next three years. Recent funding rounds have prioritised projects that align with recommendations from the Scottish Veterans Commissioner. The following projects support veterans in the justice system.

Forces Employment Charity – The NOVA Scotland Programme supports veterans in contact with the Scottish Justice System, with the overarching aim of reducing reoffending, facilitating reintegration into the community, and encouraging a successful transition into a sustainable, crime-free lifestyle. This support is delivered by a Caseworker with lived experience of the Armed Forces, working directly with individuals to understand their needs and build an action plan. Police Scotland has undertaken to offer a pathway of support for veterans brought into custody anywhere in the country. Launched in January 2026, this initiative will improve efforts to identify veterans that come into contact with the criminal justice system and help provide them with support for any issues they may be experiencing. Individuals referred through this pathway will receive an individual needs assessment from NOVA Scotland, which will be used to create an individualised care plan.

This pathway will support veterans at a crucial point in their interaction with the justice system and improve the likelihood of them achieving a positive outcome.

Sacro have secured funding to increase their Veterans Mentoring Service (VMS). The VMS is available for military veterans who are currently in, or are at risk of becoming involved in, Scotland’s Justice System. Mentors are themselves veterans and work closely with each veteran to build an intensive support plan tailored to the individual’s circumstances, providing practical and emotional support throughout their journey.

Shared Parenting Scotland have secured funding to support the work they do to strengthen support for veterans and their family’s experiencing separation, family breakdown and loss of contact with children. The funding will allow them to expand their prison outreach to more Scottish prisons - prioritising those parents who are preparing for release. Veterans will receive parenting and separation guidance including emotional regulation tools.

Veterans Scotland, as part of their funding received from the Scottish Government for 2026/7, also committed to increasing the coordination of support to veterans in the justice system. They aim to offer stronger, more coordinated third sector engagement across the prison estate ensure consistent access to support and improved continuity of care before and after release.

Integration of mainstream initiatives (e.g. Upside) with veteran specific support. 

A throughcare service for those leaving prison custody in Scotland was implemented on 1 April 2025, named ‘Upside’. Upside is intended to support those on remand or serving a short-term sentence of less than four years, both male and female. It is a person-centred model designed to cater to the needs of each individual.

Anyone who identifies themselves as a veteran is offered support whilst in custody and given help to reintegrate back into the community, with support offered for up to 12 months after release. Pre-release planning support is offered, and help is provided by a number of community organisations providing help with housing, health, finances and substance misuse. Upside work closely with the Sacro Veterans Mentoring Service (VMS) who are already well established and embedded with prisons and work collaboratively with VICSOs

SACRO liaison at VICSO events and meetings within the prison estate remains an on-going project and Veterans Mental Health concerns have been raised at the National Prison Care Network. 

The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) is working with third sector partners like SSAFA, VECTOR24, Nova Scotland, Armed Forces Veteran Services (MOD) to facilitate attendance at coffee mornings in establishments that request them, seeing an increase in visits over the last six months. SPS are also working with CAPS Veterans in Prison Advocacy to allow for research to be conducted on what veterans in the justice system need and want to support them. 

To continue to actively recruit and retain, service leavers and veterans into services in the justice system.

Members of the Justice Board were asked for comments on their policies and processes in relation to the employment of veterans and provided the following input.

Scottish Police Authority noted that recruitment and retention of veterans in their staff group sits at around 5%.

The Scottish Prison Service explained that they actively support veterans and military leavers into employment through engagement with organisations such as the Careers Transition Partnership (CTP) and British Forces Resettlement Services. SPS has been working with the CTP for around 4 years now attending the yearly recruitment events at Edinburgh and Elgin to engage with those leaving the services and advise of the opportunities that SPS has. SPS also ask potential applicants if they are a member of the armed forces and can provide CTP career managers with information on the roles and recruitment process for those who may not have been able to attend these events.

SPS supports Reservists through a dedicated Reserve Forces Policy and a range of wellbeing support provisions. Local HR teams attend armed forces recruitment events regularly.

The Scottish Government have received the following update from Police Scotland:

• Police Scotland continues to use its Positive Action Team to host dedicated recruitment events for veterans and can flexibly align intake dates for successful candidates in line with military discharge dates. Police Scotland maximizes retention by hosting veteran onboarding meetings during initial training to signpost to employee assistance providers, pensions and tax information and peer support networks, ensuring the transferable skills of the armed forces community are fully leveraged. Police Scotland also provides 10 days paid leave for cadet forces adult volunteers and reservist training and regularly allows for mobilisation opportunities for reservists.

Updating the Scottish Welfare Fund statutory guidance. 

Although the Scottish Welfare Fund (SWF) is not a means-tested benefit, we have been in contact with Poppy Scotland/Royal British Legion (RBL) in the last 12 months regarding their ‘Credit Their Service’ campaign. Following this, we agreed to include updated wording in our statutory guidance to make it clearer that local authorities should consider disregarding Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) payments when calculating an applicant’s income. Additional wording was also added to clarify that any disregard also includes Service Invalidating and Service Attributable Pension payments.

Poppy Scotland/RBL attended a SWF Practitioners’ Forum last year to present to councils on their campaign. Councils were positive about considering a disregard, however, they highlighted that a very low number of applications come from veterans and that it is not always clear when an applicant is a veteran. They suggested further communication to highlight this on the application form.

While Poppy Scotland/RBL were keen for a full disregard to be applied in the statutory guidance, COSLA were not in agreement due to concerns around local authority budgets. As such, instead of a full disregard being applied, the following wording was added to highlight that a disregard should be considered for AFCS payments: The decision maker should also consider disregarding the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) payment; however, this will be based on the circumstances of the case.

Increase veteran awareness across the agency. 

Social Security Scotland (SSS) is progressing a coordinated, cross-team approach to deliver this recommendation. Engagement, guided by evidence and insight, will be broadened to include specialist organisations – establishing new relationships to strengthen our connections and understanding.

SSS have met BLESMA and Veterans Scotland, and further activity is underway to consider how to strengthen veteran awareness within the agency’s learning and development approach. This work is being informed by the organisation’s equality and inclusion framework, as well as its user-centred design principles (place individuals at the heart of service design, involving users throughout to understand their experiences, needs and outcomes and to ensure solutions are inclusive, accessible and responsive).

Insight work is also in progress to build a clearer picture of seldom-heard audiences – including veterans – to identify areas of intersectionality and focus organisational effort where it is most needed and can have most impact.

The organisation will adopt a mainstreaming approach to ensure that veterans, and those supporting them, can access consistent and effective support through existing service channels rather than designated points of contact. This will focus on embedding awareness and capability across the service to improve accessibility and outcomes.

Review of workforce training, recruitment and retention within advice services. 

Work in planning stages to take forward stakeholder consultation focused on gathering evidence and views relating to the training and support delivered and offered to both paid and unpaid (volunteer) advisers within SG funded advice services. 

Increase the capacity of financial and debt advice sector to support veterans.

The Scottish Veterans Fund has been increased from £500k per annum to £600k per annum for the next three years. Money Advice Scotland (MAS) secured funding for the next three years in order to design and deliver a specialist training programme in part aimed at increasing the capacity of the sector to deliver financial support to veterans. Outputs will include training to veteran organisations and awareness raising sessions for MAS member organisations. Support will also be provided to the free money advice sector.

Gambling Levy funding approved by Scottish Ministers.

Supported by the Armed Forces Covenant Trust the ‘Battling the Odds’ Armed Forces Gambling Harms Support Network operates in Scotland through the RCA Trust (which is receiving funding through the levy). It seeks to reduce the stigma of gambling harms across the armed forces community and encourage access to appropriate support. The ‘Battling the Odds’ programme equips learners to provide early interventions and refer individuals to specialist service provision.

SG is working with BetKnowMore which delivers specialised support to armed forces communities through the Armed Forces Gambling Support Network (AFGSN). BetKnowMore reach military and veteran populations with specialised support across the country, which has the value-added benefit of being able to improve prevention and awareness to military bases, veterans and serving personnel across Scotland.