Veterans mental health and wellbeing pathway: impact assessment

Key Findings

Impact on Protected Characteristics

Age

Eliminating unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation – None

Advanced equality of opportunity – Positive

Promoting good relations among and between different age groups – None

Scotland’s Census reports that half of all veterans in Scotland (50.4%) were aged 65 and over with 30.6% aged 50 – 64. This highlighted an older population.

The pathway’s model will provide a digital front door for initial assessment which may provide assistance for older veterans who may find travelling for support difficult. Although consideration will need to be given to those who do not have digital access or find this difficult.

The Veterans Mental Health and Wellbeing Pathway will be designed to support all veterans living in Scotland regardless of their age so therefore will mostly have a neutral impact on this characteristic. However it is likely to have a positive impact on advancing equality of opportunity.

Disability

Eliminating unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation – None

Advanced equality of opportunity – Positive

Promoting good relations among and between different age groups – None

Scotland’s Census reports that 43.2% of veterans have a long-term health problem or disability compared to 26.6% of non-veterans.

The pathway’s model will provide a digital front door for initial assessment which may provide assistance for veterans with long-term health conditions or disabilities who may find travelling for support difficult. Although consideration will need to be given to those who do not have digital access or find this difficult.

The Veterans Mental Health and Wellbeing Pathway will be designed to support all veterans living in Scotland including those who have a disability or long-term health condition so therefore will mostly have a neutral impact on this characteristic. However it is likely to have a positive impact on advancing equality of opportunity.

Sex

Eliminating unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation – None

Advanced equality of opportunity – Positive

Promoting good relations among and between different age groups – None

Scotland’s Census reports that out of the veterans population 88% are male; 12% female.

The We Also Served report identified eighteen peer-reviewed papers which examined mental health amongst UK female veterans. These indicate that ex-servicewomen are at a lower risk of self-harm/suicide than male veterans, but at a higher risk of common mental health disorders. Compared to civilian women, female veterans are at increased risk of PTSD and suicide/suicidal thoughts (to note that this report is not specifically about female veterans in Scotland).

The Veterans Mental Health and Wellbeing Pathway will be designed to support all veterans living in Scotland regardless of their sex so therefore will mostly have a neutral impact on this characteristic. However, as outlined in the above study, female veterans may be at a higher risk of common mental health problems, it is likely that the pathway will have a positive impact on advancing equality of opportunity.

Pregnancy and maternity

Eliminating unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation – None

Advanced equality of opportunity – None

Promoting good relations among and between different age groups – None

In August 1990, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) underwent a change in policy so that female service personnel who became pregnant did not have to leave the Services. They were given the right to return to work after a period of unpaid leave in line with the statutory provisions for civilian women. At present, female service personnel are entitled to 26 weeks of Ordinary Maternity Leave and 26 weeks of Additional Maternity Leave.

The Veterans Mental Health and Wellbeing Pathway will be designed to support all veterans living in Scotland but will not be for those currently in active service. Therefore the pathway itself is unlikely to have any impact on veterans in relation to pregnancy and maternity as its focus is on mental health support rather than pregnancy, maternity or employment related support arrangements.

Gender reassignment

Eliminating unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation – None

Advanced equality of opportunity – None

Promoting good relations among and between different age groups – None

The Ministry of Defence in JSP 889 for publishing on gov.uk states that all Service Personnel, and those applying to join the Armed Forces, have the right to be treated with fairness, dignity and respect. Defence intends to ensure that individuals who are proposing to undergo, are undergoing or have undergone gender-reassignment are treated equitably and lawfully in all aspects of their employment.

The Veterans Mental Health and Wellbeing Pathway will be designed to support all veterans living in Scotland regardless of their gender and those who may be going through gender reassignment so therefore will have a neutral impact on this characteristic.

However, there are significant gaps in data with regard to veterans who have undergone gender reassignment and we note that we do not have a full understanding of the mental health needs of this population. As the pathway is implemented, additional data on this population may become available, supporting a better understanding of need and informing future service development.

Sexual orientation

Eliminating unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation – None

Advanced equality of opportunity – None

Promoting good relations among and between different age groups – None

The ban on homosexuality in the UK Armed Forces was not lifted until 2000, following a case in the European Court of Human Rights that found it to constitute a breach of Article eight of the European Convention on Human Rights. Until this point, UK policy meant that both men and women could be discharged on the grounds of homosexuality. These historic policies resulted in many veterans being discharged for disciplinary reasons or giving up a career in the Armed Forces earlier than planned or desired.

The Veterans Mental Health and Wellbeing Pathway will be designed to support all veterans living in Scotland regardless of their sexual orientation so therefore will have a neutral impact on this characteristic.

However, there are significant gaps in data with regard to veterans and their sexual orientation. We note that we do not have a full understanding of the mental health needs of this population. As the pathway is implemented, additional data on this population may become available, supporting a better understanding of need and informing future service development.

Race

Eliminating unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation – None

Advanced equality of opportunity – None

Promoting good relations among and between different age groups – None

Scotland’s Census collects information on ‘ethnic group’ rather than ‘race’. This showed that 5.4% of veterans aged 16-49 years old had a minority ethnic background, compared to 19.0% of non-veterans in this age group. 2.4% of veterans aged 50-79 years old had a minority ethnic background, compared to 6.1% of non-veterans in this age group. Among those aged 80 and over, 1.2% of veterans had a minority ethnic background, compared to 3.4% of non-veterans.

The Veterans Mental Health and Wellbeing Pathway will be designed to support all veterans living in Scotland regardless of their race or ethnic group so therefore will have a neutral impact on this characteristic.

However, there are significant gaps in data with regard to veterans and their race or ethnic group. We note that we do not have a full understanding of the mental health needs of this population. As the pathway is implemented, additional data on this population may become available, supporting a better understanding of need and informing future service development.

Religion or belief

Eliminating unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation – None

Advanced equality of opportunity – Positive

Promoting good relations among and between different age groups – None

Overall, Scotland’s Census showed that veterans were more likely to belong to a religion than non-veterans. This is due to the larger number of older people in the veteran population who are more likely to be religious than younger people. In 2022, 38.9% of veterans had no religion, compared to 49.3% of non-veterans.

Veterans were more likely to belong to the Church of Scotland than non-veterans. 34.8% of veterans belonged to the Church of Scotland, compared to 22.0% of non-veterans. 10.6% of veterans were Roman Catholic, compared to 13.6% of non-veterans. 7.6% of veterans were Other Christian, compared to 5.2% of non-veterans. 1.3% of veterans belonged to all other religions combined, compared to 3.7% of non-veterans.

The Veterans Mental Health and Wellbeing Pathway will be designed to support all veterans living in Scotland regardless of their religion or belief so therefore will have a neutral impact on this characteristic.

Marriage and Civil Partnership

As the policy does not relate directly to work e.g. HR policies and practice, this characteristic was not considered as part of the EQIA process.