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I note that the cabinet secretary’s statement referred to an increase in weather-related injuries from falls and accidents. I have read the winter plan, but the humble word “pavements” does not appear there. That is not a frivolous observation, because avoidable falls on icy pavements are obvious contributors to winter pressures at all levels of our health and social care service. In the discussions with COSLA, has any progress been made on, for example, providing self-service sand and salt bins by street—say, on request? If not, could that be progressed? It might sound like a silly observation, but there is nothing silly about it. Many people fall on icy pavements.

I add my concerns to those of my colleague Colin Beattie, as I represent Midlothian South, which has substantial population growth in Gorebridge, Penicuik and Newtongrange. I welcome the minister’s answer and I appreciate that the issue involves agreement with COSLA, but the distribution model needs to be revisited.

It is a privilege to speak in this debate, as I have in previous similar debates.

I have direct experience of members of the armed forces and their families through my engagement with Glencorse barracks, which is in my constituency. Just this week, I was back there for a visit with other MSPs, including Mr Sweeney. At one point, the barracks was threatened with closure by the MOD, but it has now been reprieved. Penicuikians very much support the barracks, which is integral to the community. The children of its personnel all attend local schools. The purpose of this week’s visit was generally to be briefed about the Army’s diverse and challenging role these days and its recruitment processes, but it also involved discussing—as it should—the pressures on personnel after returning home from a tour, the pressures on partners and families and the pressures after discharge.

I will give some context about the specific pressures on the armed forces. I spoke to one serving officer who began his service as a teenager in Northern Ireland and then had tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.

When personnel return to a home where their partner has been running the household single-handedly for months, that brings challenges for both of them, which are compounded if there are young children who are unfamiliar with their returning parent, who perhaps bears the imprint of terrible sights and sounds, which have to be sanitised in our news bulletins. Indeed, I learned that there is a two-week decompression process, so that people who return from conflict, despite their desperation to go straight home, spend time adjusting before going back to domesticity.

That is even more relevant when people leave the structure of life in the forces for good. Yes—they are coming out with skills, and they have been part of a team and might have been a team leader. Some people might have skills, such as information technology and trades, that are immediately transferable to civvy life, but other people might need retraining. In addition, they have to organise basic aspects of everyday life, such as a GP and a home, that the armed forces have done for them over the years. As I have referenced, if they are in a relationship, they have to rebalance responsibilities with their partner. They are coming home every day or might be working from home. That must put pressures on relationships. They have to get acclimatised to general everyday civvy life. They must organise themselves when, as I have said previously, days and years were organised for them. They are also separated from formerly close-knit colleagues.

It is estimated there are more than 200,000 veterans in Scotland, and it is understood that a high percentage of them live in rural areas where, historically, families over generations joined various long-gone regiments, such as the King’s Own Scottish Borderers in the Borders.

Over the decades, the MOD has come a long way in recognising and acting on not just its duties as an employer but its fiduciary duty that extends—in my book—beyond those service years. This Parliament, too, has stepped in. We are aware that, although veterans are assets to our society, many require support, and a small proportion of them find the transition to civilian life more challenging. They are due the right support to ensure that they, too, are able to adapt, realise their potential and live full and successful lives in the community after service.

A small proportion of veterans find the transition too tough. According to Scottish Prison Service figures, in July this year, in Scottish jails, there were around 243 prisoners who had served in the armed forces. However, similar figures have never been collated for those who have been given sentences such as a community payback order, supervision or tagging. People with non-custodial sentences do not get the support that should be—and often is—offered to those in prison. Those veterans fall between metaphorical cracks.

I ask the minister to ask the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs to pursue the recording of that information on veterans who receive a criminal but not custodial sentence—not for its own sake, although that is useful, but to provide support there, too. The armed forces charity, SSAFA, has caseworkers who work with people who are serving community sentences, and Police Scotland has veterans champions at divisional level, but they need to know who and where those veterans are.

Finally, Lothians Veterans Centre in Dalkeith is a small independent charity that supports military veterans and their families. It offers a safe, relaxed and supportive environment, where like-minded people can share experiences and gain professional and peer support in a home-from-home setting, in order to break down barriers of social exclusion and promote comradeship. I have visited its drop-in centre in the centre of Dalkeith, which has a welcoming environment and can provide instant assistance, support and advice in relation to a wide range of services, including health and wellbeing, housing, employment, benefits, pensions, further education and training, access to health services, welfare, comradeship and activities. Veterans can also just drop in for a cup of tea and a chat. Most members of the centre’s professional team have served in—or are, in some way, connected with—the armed forces, so they possess a wealth of experience and offer an empathetic approach to supporting veterans and their family members, in order to make their transition from military to civilian life easier. I commend Lothians Veterans Centre and direct veterans to its website and that of SSAFA.

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will commission independent analysis of the impact that its interventions, including the Scottish child payment, carers allowance supplement and the baby box, have had on social justice. (S6O-02605)

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s annual “Poverty in Scotland” report, which was published this week, highlighted the significant impact that the increased Scottish child payment is likely to have had on child poverty levels. I thank the cabinet secretary for her answer and ask her how I can access that data, which would be useful in showing the impact that not just the Scottish child payment but all the Scottish Government’s interventions are having on child poverty.

Just to make it clear, I am a pacifist, but that does not make me anti-Army. I want to put that on the record. I support the Army. I am anti-war, which is a very different matter.

In the interests of harmony, I had better discuss that matter with Jackson Carlaw and the rest of the corporate body. However, I think that, collectively, we can address it. I am glad that Gordon MacDonald brought up the issue of shelves, too, because they would be useful to many people who use the disabled toilets, not just those with stoma bags. I want to put that on the record, so that Jackson Carlaw and I will speak to each other afterwards.

Will the member take an intervention?

I cannot speak on behalf of it, but I am a member of the SPCB. However, before I make my point, I must say that I have found this an emotional speech to listen to, and I commend you from my heart, Edward, for speaking in that way and for bringing the issue to the chamber.

As a member of the SPCB, I can say that I have listened to what you have said, and we will have something done about it.

I beg your pardon. I was going to ask the member to be spontaneous and take some interventions so that we could have a lively debate, rather than having him just heckle us and rant at us.