by Jonathan Watt, CAS Director for Business Development and National Funded Services.
This article was first published in The Herald on 09 November 2024.
As an aged veteran with 27 years in uniform, last weekend I took to Princes Street in Edinburgh to stand on the pavement along with many other volunteers selling poppies for a worthy cause. Tomorrow is of course Remembrance Sunday, a national opportunity to remember the service and sacrifice of all those who have defended our freedoms and protected our way of life.
Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) is here to provide free, confidential and impartial advice to everyone, including people from the Armed Forces Community (AFC). This group often requires additional support, which by its nature will tend to be complex in nature. And with 400+ registered Armed Forces charities in Scotland alone, seeking advice can often be complicated and even confusing.
This can lead to an extended and stressful advice journey, particularly where the individual is also coping with anxiety and mental health issues. The advice received can also be limited, based on the individual’s status as a serving member or a veteran, regular or reserves, being a dependent or bereaved, as well as which branch or cap badge they served with along with their active service history.
It was for these reasons that the Armed Services Advice Project (ASAP) was created in 2010, to fill that gap in the sort of specialist advice required by the AFC. ASAP was unique in bringing together the Citizens Advice network with six of the leading UK Armed Forces charities. Through the provision of dedicated information, advice and support, it has helped an average of 2,200 beneficiaries a year and has generated more than £20 million in financial gains, which is really transforming the lives of those recipients.
Some of the cases were relatively simple – like getting housing or help with a job application. Others were deeply distressing, like disabled veterans living in poverty and serious mental health problem. It was an honour to be part in providing solutions to every one we helped.
However, just a few weeks ago, ASAP closed its doors and because its funding was withdrawn. This is unfortunate as it was one of the few services in Scotland that was able to provide a bespoke service, irrespective of the complex needs of its clients and of the balance of advice required between state and charity support; a one-stop-shop which eased anxiety and made the client journey all the easier. It was able to offer information, advice and casework support to put together a multi-agency support package for the individual using their preferred communication channel – often a person in a CAB rather than a digital helpline and being signposted on.
As a values-based organisation, Citizens Advice Scotland was able to ensure that ASAP provided a specialist advice service and avoided unnecessary duplication, ensuring a more effective and supportive advice journey.
Our network will of course continue to offer advice and support to the AFC but with the loss of the ASAP, this community in Scotland will suffer from a more siloed and inefficient service. A greater strain will also be placed on those other Scottish charities and agencies which ASAP coordinated with, and impact on the holistic advice previously provided. Scotland needs more services like the ASAP which aim to avoid duplication, increase efficiency and improve peoples’ access to the advice and support they desperately need.