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The voice of Scotland’s vibrant voluntary sector

Published by Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations

TFN is published by the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, Mansfield Traquair Centre, 15 Mansfield Place, Edinburgh, EH3 6BB. The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation. Registration number SC003558.

Massive funding boost for third sector consortium

This news post is about 7 years old
 

​Cash will be used to support older veterans

A consortium of organisations, led by Poppyscotland, has been awarded £4 million to support veterans.

The cash comes from the Aged Veterans Fund and will be used to undertake a three-year programme of support for older veterans and their families in Scotland.

Unforgotten Forces, a collaboration of 14 leading organisations, will deliver a range of new services and enhancements in areas including advice, access to healthcare, social isolation, respite, along with creative activities and events for those in care settings.

The application for funding, which was boosted by input from Standard Life’s Accelerated Development Support Programme, was made to the HM Treasury grant-giving body funded from Libor banking fines.

The money will be used over the next three years to improve the coordination of existing provision and introduce new services aimed at supporting aged veterans.

Mark Bibbey, chief executive at Poppyscotland, the organisation leading the consortium, said: “We want people to understand that key organisations in the area of support provision have joined forces to provide a more holistic provision for aged veterans.

“If a veteran is engaged with one organisation, for example, they can immediately be referred to another – or multiple consortium members if required. The essence is strength in numbers and we want the identity of our consortium to reflect this.”

Bibby said Poppyscotland’s strategy has been to build a wide portfolio of activity and to work in partnership with like-minded organisations to provide services.

He added: “The 2014 Poppyscotland Household Survey numbered Scotland’s Aged Veterans community at approximately 280,000, with almost two-thirds of those aged 65 or over.

“It highlighted the need to improve the wellbeing of this group in areas such as care, loneliness, social isolation and recreational activity, and to ensure access to advice on a wide range of subjects in order to ensure an improved quality of life.”

Defence minister Mark Lancaster said: “Our veterans have given so much for their country, and the Aged Veterans Fund is a way of us thanking our older veterans and ensuring they are cared for in later life.”