Veterans' Services Update

Scottish Veterans Commissioner publishes finance report

Susie Hamilton, the Veterans Commissioner, has published her third thematic report, focusing on the financial wellbeing of veterans in Scotland.

While many veterans enjoy a smooth transition into financially stable civilian lives, the report highlights the unique challenges by those who struggle – particularly when navigating complex welfare systems or dealing with the impacts of military-related compensation and pensions. Read the full report here.

If you would like to share your views or personal experience, you can contact her office at scottishveteranscommissioner@gov.scot.

Fass & Vector24 announce new project

Project Shield, a new initiative from Fass and Vector24, offers rapid mental health support for alcohol-related issues in the armed forces community in Fife.

FASS provides counselling and psychotherapy and Vector24 eliminates barriers of transportation. This project will provide initial consultation within just five days of referral.

Follow this link for more information: New Project Announcement | News | FASS

Alex's Story

To mark Loneliness Awareness Week, Age Scotland shared Alex's Story. Alex, a 72-year-old engineer from Motherwell who first got in touch with the charity two years ago, is lonely, like hundreds of thousands of older people in Scotland.

Having worked abroad for most of his life, when he returned to Scotland in 2007 there was no one to reconnect with.

Other than his friendship calls from Age Scotland, Alex says the only people he speaks to on the phone are doctors, the dentist or the council.

Unfortunately, Alex’s story is one of far too many, and with Scotland’s population ageing, demand for our friendship services is on the rise.

Alex said: “The weekly friendship call I get on a Friday sets me up for the whole weekend and leaves me feeling on top of the world. It makes the weekend not seeing anyone more tolerable. It is such a wonderful thing for people like me with no family or friends to talk to. Getting these calls from Age Scotland has meant the world to me.”

To read Alex’s story in full, please visit Alex's Story | Age Scotland.

You can also call our free helpline on 0800 12 44 222 to request a friendship call.

Farewell Tommy

At the UF Consortium meeting on June 4 at Age Scotland in Edinburgh, we marked a special moment with Tommy Douglas, ahead of his retirement at the end of the month.

Tommy has represented the Royal British Legion Scotland in the Unforgotten Forces consortium with dedication since its inception in 2017. We were pleased to celebrate Tommy with cake and to welcome his successor, Rory McIntyre, to the partnership.

Training & Events

Regional Forums

Courses with Age Scotland’s Dementia Team

New workshop dates from July to September 2025 covering dementia awareness, inclusion, carers training, DFC training and more.

More information can be found here: Dementia Training | Age Scotland, or email dementiatraining@agescotland.org.uk.

Armed Forces Coffee Club

All serving, veterans and reservists are welcome to come along for a friendly chat and a warm cup of coffee every first Saturday of each month in Airdrie.

Contact diamondsitc@hotmail.com for more information and to sign up.

Free online learning

Here is a list of free online learning courses suitable for staff and service users.

Alison Free Online Courses and Online Learning

BBC Skillswise: resources for adult learners

Enroll in online courses with certificates | edX

Browse Free Online Courses - FutureLearn

Free short courses from the Open University | OpenLearn - Open University

Curling in Stirling

Fully accessible curling sessions open to veterans of all abilities, with support from Stirling Veterans Curling Group and SSAFA. These sessions offer great exercise and camaraderie.

Call 0141 488 3652 or email ghh@ssafa.org.uk to find out more.

Gambling Harms Summit: Standing Strong for a Safer Scotland

Organised by RCA Trust, a gambling support organisation, you can join their full-day summit on September 24, in Glasgow. The summit aims to bring people together from across Scotland to strengthen the efforts preventing and reducing gambling harms.

Sign up using the following Eventbrite link

Free days out for local community at original Willow Tea Rooms building

Get your group together for an enjoyable day out in Glasgow, including a tour of the Mackintosh-designed property, tea or coffee and cakes, stencilling workshop and an onsite exhibition.

Funding Opportunities

Support secured for LGBT veterans

Updated legislation means that payments from the UK’s LGBT Financial Recognition Scheme will not impact council tax reduction entitlements in Scotland.

Check out the full announcement and what it means here: Support secured for LGBT Veterans - gov.scot.

Don't let Armed Forces pensions go unclaimed

Did you know? Every year some 2000 preserved Armed Forces pensions go unclaimed!

The last report from MOD in 2024 states that almost 15,000 pensions remain unclaimed, many involving significant sums of money.

These benefits are not paid automatically – they must be applied for, and our campaign aims to raise awareness and signpost eligible Veterans to unite them with their missing pension benefits.

Forcespensionsociety.org