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The Veterans Mental Health & Wellbeing Action Plan was published in December 2021 and, through this, three key principles have been identified for future services: equal access to service; clear and timely pathways to correct help; and improving support to providers.

The new Implementation Board will work to implement these principles and ensure that veterans have parity of care, no matter where they are located in Scotland. The Implementation Board is chaired by Dr Charles Winstanley, a veteran with considerable experience in the NHS and in the third sector. The board includes Combat Stress, representatives from NHS Health Boards, Veterans First Point and Veterans Scotland.

The NACCP last met in May 2021. As set out in the Implementation Plan for the Framework the NACCP has been replaced by the Pain Management Task force.

The Scottish Government and Scottish FA meet regularly to discuss a range of issues. However, there have been no recent discussions about the future of the national stadium.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-13720 on 24 January 2023. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

In 2021 we increased the Scottish Veterans Fund to £500,000 per annum to provide greater support to veterans and their families. This year, 25 projects are supported by the Fund. This includes projects helping to combat social isolation, for example a programme of away days for veterans in and around the Huntly area from Networks of Wellbeing; and the establishment of a Cafe hub in Falkirk which offers support to veterans and their families by FirstLight Trust.

Our strategy ‘A Connected Scotland’ recognises that those in transitional phases, like veterans leaving the armed forces, can be more at risk of social isolation and loneliness. Our forthcoming social isolation and loneliness plan will set out our intent to engage with veterans organisations and use data and outcomes to understand how we can better support the armed forces community to strengthen social connections.

The most recent iteration of the Scottish Household Survey included the 2022 Census question on former service in the Armed Forces which, when combined with the Scottish Household Survey’s questions on loneliness and isolation, will improve considerably our understanding of social isolation across the veterans community. This will, in turn, help inform future policy and services.

Early intervention in psychosis (EIP) and improving services and support for people experiencing a first instance of psychosis in Scotland, are key priority areas for the Scottish Government, as set out in the Early Intervention In Psychosis Action Plan 2019, Mental Health Strategy 2017 to 2027 and the Coronavirus (COVID-19): Mental Health - Transition and Recovery Plan 2020.

To deliver this improvement we commissioned Healthcare Improvement Scotland to undertake a national needs assessment for EIP services across all 14 health boards which was published in March 2021. This assessment outlines the specific needs of communities across Scotland when considering the delivery of improved EIP services. The assessment report and recommendations from this work can be accessed here: https://ihub.scot/media/8111/20210316-eip-report-v21.pdf

In April 2021 we began work with Healthcare Improvement Scotland to deliver a second phase of EIP improvement, which is ongoing. This work builds on the national needs assessment and is focused on piloting models of service delivery which take account of the needs of different communities across Scotland.

Skills Development Scotland(SDS), the Scottish Government’s Skills agency, works closely with the Career Transition Partnership who have responsibility for delivering the career and employment support as part of the transition for those leaving military service.

SDS have delivered sessions on My World of Work (MyWOW) and all SDS advisers are aware of the wide range of training and education options available at all levels across Scotland. A dedicated page on the SDS MyWOW website acts as a signpost for a range of advice and support. This has also been included as part of SDS’ presentations to serving military as part of the personal resilience days.

In addition and to assist service leavers and veterans in understanding their transferable skills and to help plan their future learning journey, the Scottish Government has funded the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) to develop a Discovery Tool to help them align their skills and qualifications gained in service with comparable Scottish level qualifications. This is available through the SCQF or SDS MyWOW websites.

Work on developing the tool further to link to the college and universities sectors continues. The MOD's Enhanced Learning Credits (ELCAS) Scheme promotes lifelong learning amongst members of the Armed Forces, the scheme enables higher level learning of a nationally recognised qualification with an approved Learning Provider. We continue to work to improve the ELCAS offering and are making progress in understanding the institutional issues.

The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) continue to facilitate work with the Armed Forces and Veterans Community Group (AFVCG) and the Ministry of Defence’s Training, Educations, Skills, Resettlement and Recruitment (TESRR) and Careers Transition Partnership (CTP) with a proposal to have dedicated educational opportunities briefing sessions at CTP online workshops being approved. In Academic Year 2021-22 three online sessions were delivered and one face to face session. For Academic Year 2022-23 three CTP online sessions and two face to face sessions have been arranged.

The SFC on behalf of the Scottish Government have a dedicated web page with information and advice for people leaving military service. The web page is regularly reviewed and maintained, with updates when necessary. SFC Communications Teams uses social media channels to promote events linked to and relevant for veterans, service leavers, the armed forces and their families.

The Centre for Military Research, Education and Public Engagement (CMREPE) based at Edinburgh Napier University, has a focus for ‘developing a strong network of significant partnerships to enhance opportunities for military personnel active, transitioning and veterans in education and research activity.

No One Left behind and Fair Start Scotland are integral parts of the employability support landscape in Scotland and aim to support individuals, including veterans and their partners, to overcome barriers through person-centred tailored support, enabling them to access and sustain fair employment.

No One Left Behind supports those transitioning out of military service, to deliver local place based approach to facilitate easier alignment of employability support with existing local level support services including housing, health, justice and advice services to ensure that individuals can access the holistic packages of support that they need to move towards, into and to sustain employment.

Fair Start Scotland, our national employment support service, offers 12 to 18 months of tailored, person-centred pre-employment support, along with up to 12 months of in-work support available for individuals and their employers. Support includes access to workshops and guidance utilising the transferrable skills that people leave military services with.

In addition, The Veterans Employability Strategic Group brings together members from the UK and Scottish Government, agencies, Local Authority employability representatives, third sector organisations supporting veterans and employers with a specific aim to work together to enable smoother transition for those leaving military service and settling in Scotland. The need to ensure smoother transitions has been a focus of successive Scottish Veterans Commissioners and thus a priority for the Scottish Government and its agencies.

Greater partnership working between UK , Scottish and regional local partners has led to greater collaboration. For example, Skills Development Scotland (SDS) works closely with colleagues in the Career Transition Partnership (CTP) who are the Ministry of Defence’s official resettlement provider and are responsible for delivering the career and employment support as part of the transition from military service.

They have a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Defence, and CTP colleagues are aware of SDS as a referral route for clients requiring impartial career guidance. SDS Veterans leads have also delivered sessions to SDS colleagues and armed forces champions that inform colleagues of the CTP offer and the support available to service leavers from CTP for up to 2 years post discharge.

We recognise the impact that chronic pain can have on people’s quality of life, including those with health problems arising as a result of their service to their country. The Scottish Veterans Commissioner (SVC) report ‘Veterans’ Health and Wellbeing ( www.gov.scot ) contained a recommendation that the National Advisory Committee for Chronic Pain (NACCP) consider support for Veterans as part of their work.

As detailed in the Scottish Government’s Support for the Veterans and the Armed Forces Community report published in November 2020, in line with this recommendation, the Scottish Government provided funding for the Pain Association Scotland to deliver a project to develop bespoke chronic pain self-management support for Veterans which received excellent feedback from participants. Outputs from this work included the development of a standardised Veterans referral form for healthcare practitioners seeking to support these patients.

The Scottish Government set out a refreshed approach to improving care and support for people with chronic pain in the Framework for Pain Management Service Delivery – Implementation Plan , published in July 2022. The Plan sets out a number of specific actions that are intended to improve care and support for people with chronic pain across Scotland, irrespective of underlying clinical cause or background. As we deliver the Plan we will identify opportunities to improve pain management support for groups facing inequalities, including Veterans, to ensure they can access the right care, at the right time, in the right place.

The Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights (CRER) was commissioned to identify examples of anti-racist performance objectives with proposed performance measures that could be used by public bodies across Scotland.

To date, seven NHS Board Chairs have been set anti-racist objectives and performance measures in accordance with CRER's commission. Following feedback, these objectives and performance measures are being reviewed, to ensure they fully align with the scrutiny and assurance roles of Board Chairs.