Meeting of the Parliament 09 December 2025
Support for veterans and those in the armed forces is important wherever you are in Scotland, but it has a special resonance in my constituency, which includes His Majesty’s Naval Base Clyde at Faslane.
The submariners protecting our seas do so knowing that they will miss out on many special moments with loved ones on land, and there are few things more moving than seeing families reunite after many months apart. For some, they have been at sea longer than they expected because of the capacity of the service, which the UK Government is addressing. This summer, I had the privilege of meeting the crew of HMS Vanguard at 10 Downing Street, where they were rightly celebrated for their contribution to keeping our country safe.
The reality is that our seas are already contested. Just yesterday, the UK Labour Government announced its Atlantic bastion programme, which will combine autonomous vessels and artificial intelligence with warships and aircraft to create a highly advanced hybrid force to protect undersea cables and pipelines. That follows an increase in Russian underwater activity, including by the spy ship Yantar, which is apparently mapping our underwater cables. Russia is also believed to have been behind the sabotage of Shetland’s subsea internet cables in 2023.
The first priority of any Government should be keeping its citizens safe, and no Government can do that without its armed forces. The UK Labour Government is investing £250 million in His Majesty’s Naval Base Clyde, which will reap a defence dividend in my constituency and beyond.
Part of thanking those who serve is showing that we value them when their service is over, which is why it is so important that we deliver for veterans. The UK Labour Government recently published its veterans strategy, backed by £50 million of Government investment, as a number of members have already referred to. That includes delivering the digital veteran card in 2025 to make it easier for veterans to access services, and creating a new network of local support centres to improve access to services such as health, housing and employment.
The Scottish Veterans Commissioner’s report is to be welcomed, as it shows the progress that has been made by the Scottish Government. I congratulate the Government on that, and we are all grateful to Susie Hamilton for her work in that regard. However, as I think we all agree, there is more to be done.
I welcome the minister’s commitment to do more work with GPs to understand why uptake for the general practice armed forces and veterans recognition scheme has been so low and to increase the number of practices that participate in the scheme. I agree with Sandesh Gulhane that we simply need more GPs in order to cope with the capacity that is required.
The minister was right to reference long waiting times and, in particular, the impact on services. I have a constituent who sought a referral to treat a tumour that would affect his ability to work, but the waiting lists in Scotland were simply too long. He wanted a referral to the Dreadnought medical service, which offers treatment to seafarers, but NHS Scotland seemed to be unwilling to fund that. We need to get better at working collaboratively so that people can continue to serve.
The report warns that progress on housing for veterans is still lagging behind where it should be, and the Scottish Government needs to increase the pace if it is to tackle the blight of veteran homelessness.