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SNP INVESTS IN VETERANS’ SERVICES AND SUPPORT, TORIES CUT THEM

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Wednesday, 24 March 2021

Ms Roseanna Cunningham MSP has welcomed the announcement from the Scottish Government that Armed Forces charities across Scotland will benefit from a new £1 million support fund, money intended to help the sector to offset a shortfall in income due to the impact of the coronavirus epidemic.

Speaking this morning, Ms Cunningham said:

“In May last year a survey by the Scottish Charity Regulator found 75% of charities had seen a negative impact on their finances as a result of Covid and I have no doubt that the situation can only have worsened over the following months.

“All charities, like so much else in our society, will have been affected, but we really do have a particular duty of care towards those who have served in our armed forces, people who have been prepared to put their lives on the line to keep us all safe in a sometimes uncertain world.

“I am really pleased, therefore, to welcome the news of this new £1 million fund to help those Third Sector organisations who play such a vital role in supporting our Armed Forces community and who have been going above and beyond this year to provide crucial support for veterans and their families coping with the impact of the pandemic.

“It cannot go unremarked that the announcement of this funding from the Scottish Government came just a day before news emerged of the UK Treasury’s plan to cut back the veterans’ office budge by 40 per cent, slashing the annual budget from
£5 million to £3 million.

“The contrast could not be more stark.  The SNP invests in veterans’ services and support, whilst the Tories cut them.”