Scottish Veterans Fund 

Introduction

1. The Scottish Veterans Fund (SVF) has been established by the Scottish Government to assist groups and organisations that in turn offer assistance to Scotland’s ex-Service personnel, their families and their dependents, and is administered in collaboration with Veterans Scotland. The Fund has been designed to provide discrete amounts of funding to one off projects.

2. The SVF is particularly aimed at projects that deliver a new or innovative approach to veterans’ issues, or that seek to develop areas and activities that are not currently funded by either the Scottish Government or the Ministry of Defence. The output and outcome that is the benefit the project brings to ex-Service personnel, their families and their dependents, should be the predominant measure of its value, not the scale of the project.

3. Scottish Ministers are keen to develop links with young people and schools to ensure that the debt that society owes to our veterans is better understood. The SVF will therefore be available for bids that encompass the inter-generational transfer of knowledge including those that support, or are part of, projects organised by schools.

4. Decisions on whether to support a bid for financial assistance from the SVF will be based on the assessment of the Veterans Scotland Selection Panel reporting back to Scottish Ministers and will be based on how well the Selection Panel feel the application meets the criteria outlined below and in its enduring value to veterans.

General Approach

5. Whilst policy matters relating to veterans are reserved for the Ministry of Defence, there are certain aspects of life for veterans in Scotland that the SVF can be used to support. The following checklist indicates the types of activity that could be supported by the SVF, taking into account Government policy and devolved/reserved responsibilities.

6. Applications for financial support from the SVF must directly address a veterans’ need as set out in the criteria below. Applications that support actions under the four pillars of activity as identified by Veterans Scotland are particularly welcome – these pillars cover a diverse range of possible projects and can include projects based around, but not limited to:

  • transition to civilian life following service;
  • support to veterans in terms of the provision of advice and help from the Government and voluntary sector where needed;
  • recognition of veterans’ contribution to society through, for example, Veterans Day events;
  • education related projects that involve school children and young people, and;
  • research projects that seek to deliver a greater understanding of the issues faced by some veterans, for example, in housing and homelessness or in alcohol and drug abuse.

Eligibility Criteria

7. Your project must be based in Scotland and should meet one or more of the following:

  • be for the benefit of ex-Service personnel living in Scotland.
  • support activity under one or more of Veterans Scotland’s four pillars – Membership, Care, Housing and Support.
  • be of a recognition or commemorative nature – NOT remembrance – e.g., the SVF can provide funding for events under the Veterans Day banner, but not for “Beating Retreat” or Remembrance Sunday type events;
  • be designed to raise awareness in the general public of veterans’ issues;
  • have an educational element aimed at children and young people;
  • be designed to deliver support for veterans as they make the transition back to civilian life.
  • represent value for money and include evidence that public money will be spent effectively.
  • have a strong and robust business case, including sound financial and management arrangements.
  • have clearly defined outcomes and timescales for these to be achieved.

The SVF will not provide funding for projects that:

  • are based outside of Scotland.
  • are solely aimed at serving members of HM Armed Forces (except for some transition projects).
  • are a reunion, reception or activity for which other funding sources (e.g. the Big Lottery Fund) could be used.
  • are for the erection, maintenance or repair of a memorial.
  • make direct payments to ex-Service personnel.
  • fund capital works, i.e. building or maintenance.
  • fund core administration, personnel or running costs, nor for on-going/recurring costs.
  • have already begun before you obtain funding (in the first year of operation this criterion may be waived in some instances).


8. Queries on the Criteria for Application should be addressed to Bob McFarlane, Secretary, Veterans Scotland on 0131 550 1569 or email to vsadmin@poppyscotland.org.uk 

Available Funding

9. The SVF will provide a total of £80,000 per annum from 2008-09 to 2010-11. As the SVF has a finite level of resources available for distribution, the maximum level of funding available for individual projects will not exceed £10,000. Indeed, it is likely the SVF will provide individual payments of much less than £10,000 in order to support as many projects as possible. Where the cost of a project is expected to be in excess of £10,000, applicants are advised to explore alternative avenues of funding, such as the Veterans Challenge Fund, the Big Lottery Fund or other charitable organizations and foundations.

10. Should the total value of bids received by the closing date for applications exceed the level of Scottish Government resources available for distribution, then some projects may not secure some or even any funding from the SVF.

11. The decision to support, or otherwise, any bid to the SVF rests with Scottish Ministers on the basis of recommendations made by Veterans Scotland. Scottish Ministers are under no obligation to accept the recommendations of the Selection Panel and their decision is final. However, applicants may make fresh applications in respect of unsuccessful bids in subsequent years.

12. Furthermore, the Scottish Veterans Fund is not a Scottish version of the Veterans Challenge Fund operated by the Ministry of Defence, though an application to the Veterans Challenge Fund does not preclude one to the SVF, or vice versa. Nevertheless, applicants seeking substantial funding for a project are advised to contact the Veterans Policy Unit (0207 218 3028) to explore the possibility of making an application to the Veterans Challenge Fund. 

Making an Application

13. Applications for funding should be made on the SVF Application Form available on both the Scottish Government and Veterans Scotland websites.

14. Applications for 2010-11 should be made before 1 January 2010. Only applications made on the application form and submitted to Veterans Scotland by the closing date will be considered. Augmenting material in support of an application may be provided under separate cover.

Financial Rules

15. The Scottish Government’s standard Conditions of Grant will apply to all awards made under the SVF. These conditions are available on request and will be included in any subsequent formal offer of funding.

16. Before approving a bid, the Veterans Scotland Selection Panel will require to be satisfied that the applicant organisation has sufficient competency to deliver the project and to apply sound financial management to it.

17. Should a project for which a SVF award is made change, prior approval must be obtained from the Scottish Government Social Inclusion Division immediately. In the event of unauthorised change it may be necessary for the Scottish Government to recover from the recipient organisation some or all of the money originally provided, especially if the scope of the project has reduced.

18. Where public money has been applied to fund any tangible asset, in whole or in part, for example a network of PCs or office equipment, that asset is not to be sold or realized without the written permission of the provider of the public funding, in this case Scottish Ministers.

19. There is a requirement to spend any award under the SVF before the end of the financial year (i.e. 31 March 2009) and it is not permissible for funding from one financial year to be carried forward into the following year. Unspent funding at the end of any financial year must be returned to the Scottish Government.

20. The SVF cannot be used to cover shortfalls in funding that arise during or at the end of a project.

21. Successful applicants will be expected to submit to Scottish Ministers, a report detailing how the SVF award has been utilized and the outputs and outcomes of the funded project.  The report should be submitted within six months of the agreed completion date of the work funded through the SVF.  This report should also include a simple balance sheet showing income from all sources and expenditure.  This balance sheet should be signed by authorised personnel.

Additional Information

22. The Scottish Government, in line with the Ministry of Defence, defines a veteran as:

Any person who has served for any length of time in the Armed Forces of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (whether Regular or Reserve, including National Servicemen). The veterans’ community also includes their widows/widowers and spouses and dependants. Exceptionally, this definition also includes former members of the Merchant Navy who took part in legally defined UK military operations.

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