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The Scottish Government provided £3,000 in 2020-21 to Legion Scotland to deliver Befriending and Mental Health First Aid training to individuals from the veterans community, including breakfast club volunteers. These sessions were initially delayed due to the pandemic. However, Legion Scotland successfully delivered the Mental Health First Aid training in March 2022. The planned Befriending courses were cancelled due to lockdown and the funding initially allocated was refunded to Legion Scotland and re-purposed to support the delivery of the MHFA training. In total, 28 people attended the courses including several admin staff from multiple breakfast clubs.

Veterans’ specific welfare support is a matter centrally supported by UK Government policy and delivered by Veterans UK and the Veterans Welfare Service (VWS) , part of Ministry of Defence (MOD). The UK-wide service works with local authorities, voluntary organisations, service charities and the Veterans Advisory and Pensions Committees .

The Scottish Government’s Benefit Take-up Stakeholder Reference Group works with a range of specific seldom-heard groups, including veterans’ groups, to better understand and address non-take-up among particular populations and to maximise incomes. In the current year (2022-23) we have allocated over £12.5 million to support the provision of free income maximisation, welfare and debt advice.

The Scottish Government has designed the application guidance for Scottish Government benefits to provide comprehensive information on entitlement. Similarly, signposting is included to refer clients to the relevant agencies for reserved benefits where appropriate. Adult Disability Payment launched in August last year. The application form asks clients about their possible entitlement to Armed Forces Independence Payment, War Pensioners’ Mobility Supplement and War Pension Constant Attendance Allowance. Where appropriate, clients are then directed to Veterans UK for further advice. We have also worked with Veterans UK to develop an information sharing process between the organisation and Social Security Scotland. This is intended to ensure that veterans can efficiently access the support to which they are entitled.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-13853 on 26 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

Through the National Drugs Mission, the Scottish Government is investing £250 million over the life of the Parliament to save and improve lives by expanding capacity in and improving access to treatment and support, both in the community and in residential rehabilitation. For the first time this year we will have data on the number of veterans accessing drug and alcohol treatment services, using the new Drug and Alcohol Information System (DAISy). We will use this data to inform our work to better meet the needs of veterans who use drugs to support them to achieve their recovery goals.

In the first year of the Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund for adults in 2021-22, the Scottish Government provided funding to the 32 Third Sector Interface (TSIs) who were responsible for distributing the funding to local grassroots community organisations. Local application processes are underway for Year 2, with information on the organisations receiving funding to be published in June 2023.

Further information about the funded projects can be found in the Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund: Year 1 - Monitoring and Reporting Summary, which was published in June 2022.

A table providing details of the awards made to grassroots community projects by area, purpose and value of each award has been placed in SPICe bib number 63970.

This information was provided by Third Sector Interface organisations in April 2022 based on awards made.

The criteria for the Scottish Veterans Fund are published on the Scottish Government website. The criteria for the 2023/24 fund can be found at the following link: Apply to the Scottish Veterans Fund - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

Bids for the Scottish Veterans Fund are assessed by an independent panel, chaired by the Scottish Veterans Commissioner, which recommends which projects should receive funding.

People engaged in sexual abuse of children outside the United Kingdom can be prosecuted in Scotland under either Sections 54 and 55 of the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009 or Section 16(b) of the Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995. Section 16(b) of the Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995 and Section 55 of the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009 cover people who engage in child sex tourism, whilst Section 54 of the 2009 Act covers incitement to commit such offences.

Within the span of the financial years 1995-1996 to 2020-21 a total of eight people have been convicted in Scotland for sexual abuse of children outside the United Kingdom related charges. Specifically:

• Two people in 2007-08 (under Section 16(b) of the Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995);
• One person in 2009-10 (under Section 16(b) of the Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995);
• One person in 2010-11 (under Section 16(b) of the Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995);
• One person in 2018-19 (under Section 54 of the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009);
• Two people in 2019-20 (one under Section 54 of the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009 and one under Section 55 of the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009); and
• One person in 2020-21 (under Section 55 of the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009).

The Scottish Government has engaged directly with representatives from NHS Boards and Health and Social Care Partnerships to develop, deliver and subsequently assess workforce, finance and service plans in 2022-23. As part of the planning process, health boards were set workforce priorities in connection with their Annual Delivery Plan. Further, Scottish Government guidance on the production of three-year workforce plans, issued in April 2022, set out expressly how and where medium-term workforce planning should be directly aligned with financial and service planning priorities, taking into account assessments of changing service demand and relevant financial/budgetary forecasting.

The information that has been requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.

Scotland has some of the strongest homelessness legislation in the world and all local authorities have a legal duty to provide support to anyone at risk of homelessness, including veterans.

Preventing homelessness from happening in the first place is the best and most effective way to end homelessness. That is why, we commissioned the Veterans Scotland Housing Group to develop specific strategies to prevent homelessness for veterans. Their report was published in January 2022. We have accepted the 24 recommendations in principle and are engaging with partners on next steps.

Additionally, we continue to support the charity Housing Options Scotland to provide its Military Matters project, helping veterans and serving members of the Armed Forces to find the right home in the right place. The Scottish Government website also hosts a guide containing housing in Scotland information and contacts of organisations who may be able to help veterans obtain housing suitable for their needs.