Meeting of the Parliament 17 May 2018
I thank the cabinet secretary for advance sight of her statement. I join her in thanking Eric Fraser, the Scottish veterans commissioner, for his latest report, and I welcome his recommendations.
A YouGov survey for the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association found these startling facts about veterans: 34 per cent felt overwhelmed by negative feelings and 27 per cent admitted that they had had suicidal thoughts after finishing military service. That shows that we need to do more for the mental health of our veterans community.
The cabinet secretary spoke about improving mental health services for veterans, which I strongly welcome. She also spoke about the funding that the Scottish Government provides for veterans first point centres, which play a vital role in the healthcare of veterans—particularly with regard to mental health—in the areas in which they operate. The cabinet secretary will know that the programme is jointly funded, with half of the money coming from the Government and half of it coming from the health boards. However, I have become aware that veterans first point is being considered for cuts by some health boards, which would result in some centres being lost to their areas. We have already lost veterans first point services in Highland and in Grampian. Will the cabinet secretary today commit to ensuring that veterans first point does not decline in size any further? My aspiration is for veterans first point services to cover the entire country and be available to all veterans in Scotland.