Meeting of the Parliament 09 December 2025
I declare an interest: I am a practising NHS GP. I also speak today as a Glasgow MSP who represents a city with a proud service history, with Royal Navy ships built on the Clyde and high-tech military equipment still produced at Thales, and it is home to many veterans and their families.
I begin by putting on the record my deep gratitude to our veterans, serving personnel and their loved ones. We welcome the work that has gone into the veterans strategy action plan, the Scottish veterans fund and the Scottish Veterans Commissioner’s progress report. At the outset, I stress that the majority of veterans go on to live quite normal lives and require little or no help, but some require help.
It should be recognised that many charities and third sector organisations, not least Poppyscotland and Legion Scotland, do outstanding work, often stepping in where the state has struggled to keep up. In Glasgow, I have engaged directly with Community Veterans Support and the armed forces charity SSAFA, which are both based in Govan. They are clear that veterans still need more practical help, guidance and support when it comes to healthcare, social services and housing.
Community Veterans Support emphasises the importance of stronger social support to tackle isolation and help people to build a new life in civilian society. Its experience on the ground should shape our policy. My experience as a GP, and what veterans tell us, is that, while the strategy is welcome, delivery is what really matters. If we are serious about the armed forces covenant, the fundamentals of health and social care in Scotland must work for veterans and their families in practice, not just in principle.
Let us look at access to primary care. Scotland simply does not have enough GPs. We have many more registered patients than we had a decade ago, but the number of practices has fallen. Veterans who are trying to register with a practice or to get timely appointments for physical or mental health concerns are often competing in an overstretched system that is already under real pressure.