logo
Lanarkshire Armed Services Advice supporting veterans in local community

Lanarkshire Armed Services Advice supporting veterans in local community

Daily Record7 days ago

Lanarkshire Armed Services Advice supporting veterans in local community
The LASA has announced that, with the generous support of the Veterans Foundation, it will successfully continue to deliver its specialist services to the Armed Forces community in Lanarkshire.
Lanarkshire Armed Services Advice continues to be a primary artery within the Local Armed Forces Community support system.
(Image: SWNS.com )
Lanarkshire Armed Services Advice continues to be a primary artery within the Local Armed Forces Community support system.
The LASA has announced that, with the generous support of the Veterans Foundation, it will successfully continue to deliver its specialist services to the Armed Forces community in Lanarkshire.

Established in November last year, following the closure of the Scotland-wide Armed Services Advice Project (ASAP), LASA operates as a distinct service within the Lanarkshire Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) network, encompassing nine CAB offices across the region.

In just one year, LASA assisted 264 members of the Armed Forces community, achieving financial gains totalling £393,437.88 primarily by maximizing income through benefits.
Download the Lanarkshire Live app today
The Lanarkshire Live app is available to download now.
Get all the news from your area – as well as features, entertainment, sport and the latest on Lanarkshire's recovery from the coronavirus pandemic – straight to your fingertips, 24/7.
The free download features the latest breaking news and exclusive stories, and allows you to customise your page to the sections that matter most to you.
Head to the App Store and never miss a beat in Lanarkshire - iOS - Android
Notably, 44 per cent of the issues addressed were related to social security benefits, and 18 per cent pertained to War Disablement Pension/Armed Forces compensation.
Article continues below
CEO of Motherwell & Wishaw CAB, Kinga Kosakowska, said 'We are deeply grateful to the Veterans Foundation for their generous support, which enables us to continue providing essential services to veterans, their families, and members of the armed forces community across Lanarkshire.
'This funding allows us to continue to offer a discrete, holistic, client-centred advice and information service at a local level, to some of the most vulnerable individuals as well as practical, on-going support.
'Our services provide a lifeline to those most in need, and we are delighted that we can ensure sustained support to veterans and their families.'

For more information or to access LASA's services, individuals can contact their local CAB office or visit the official website.
Huge fire breaks out at Lanarkshire industrial estate as people urged to avoid area
READ MORE:
LASA serves as a single point of contact for guidance on both military service benefits and Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)/Social Security Scotland benefits.
Where appropriate, LASA facilitates warm handovers to other relevant CAB specialist services and referral partners within the Armed Forces Network, such as SSAFA, DMWS, Combat Stress, Veterans Welfare Service, Veterans Champions, Veterans 1st Point, and Vector24.

The service has strong links with military charities and services, enabling a holistic support approach.
This collaboration ensures that veterans and their families receive comprehensive assistance tailored to their individual needs.
For more information or to access LASA's services, individuals can contact their local CAB office or visit the official website.
Article continues below
*Don't miss the latest headlines from around Lanarkshire. Sign up to our newsletters here.
And did you know Lanarkshire Live had its own app? Download yours for free here.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

SNP's 'outdated dogma' over armed forces spending is threat to national security
SNP's 'outdated dogma' over armed forces spending is threat to national security

Daily Mail​

time3 hours ago

  • Daily Mail​

SNP's 'outdated dogma' over armed forces spending is threat to national security

The SNP has been accused of putting 'outdated dogma' above the interests of national security in a dramatic escalation of a war of words over defence spending. Holyrood ministers have refused to back down from the party's policy against funding companies involved in munitions manufacturing. In a letter to the First Minister, Labour MP Graeme Downie, accused him of 'willing to place outdated SNP dogma regarding the UK armed forces and defence sectors above the security of our country' Downie, whose constituency is home to a number of UK defence contractors, said: 'If it is the policy of your government that public money should not be spent on ammunition and military equipment to defend our country, can I ask if you believe our armed forces should have equipment at all and, if so, how would you otherwise suggest this is funded? The row came after Sir Keir Starmer pledged to increase defence spending and make the UK battle ready, supporting more than 25,000 jobs in the sector in Scotland. But it emerged the Scottish Government was refusing financial support to a welding site in Glasgow because the project involved an 'attack submarine'. Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs Mairi Gougeon told the BBC Sunday Show that public money should not be spent on ammunition or military equipment. She was defending the Scottish Government's failure to support the creation of thousands of jobs by Rolls-Royce, adding that the SNP had a 'long-standing' policy against giving money to munitions companies. A major row ensued with Rolls-Royce disputing that it is a 'munitions' company, while John Healey, the Labour UK Government defence secretary, said he could 'hardly believe' a Scottish nationalist government would stand in the way of skills development in Scotland. Yesterday Scottish Labour deputy leader, Dame Jackie Baillie, told the MSPs at Holyrood: 'The Scottish Government's position is frankly incoherent and their policy on state funded aid for defence is all over the place and applied selectively.' She pointed out that the Government-owned shipyard Ferguson Marine is carrying out subcontractor work for the Royal Navy's Type 26 frigate programme - arguing 'there are munitions on the frigate'. Dame Jackie asked: 'What does the Government believe the Army, the Navy and the air force should defend the country with? 'Pea shooters, bows and arrows, a telling off?' SNP business minister Richard Lochhead who was in the firing line said the SNP administration 'values the role of the defence sector' north of the Border and had allocated £45million of support to defence companies through enterprise agencies. He said governments must take into account 'ethical considerations' when funding the sector. Meanwhile, Mr Downie also raised serious concerns in his letter to the FM that Scottish ministers were routinely failing to acknowledge the importance of Scotland's defence industry and its workforce. He said: 'I am sure that these recent manoeuvres by your Ministers to undermine their work will be deeply felt and is something, I hope, you would wish to distance yourself from. 'A failure to do so would, sadly, lead me to the conclusion that you are and the opportunity to provide a pathway to highly skilled jobs across Scotland, particularly for young people from working class communities in constituencies such as mine.' 'I hope you will see the inconsistency and ludicrous nature of the position adopted by the Cabinet Secretary over the weekend. Last year we revealed how SNP Ministers had failed to meet Babcock for three years. One of the UK's largest engineering firms it works on the Royal Navy's Dreadnought Class nuclear submarines and runs a Naval yard at Rosyth, Fife. Both John Swinney and Kate Forbes neglected to attend the steel-cutting ceremony for the new HMS Formidable frigate - despite it representing a significant milestone in the construction of Type 31 frigates. Ministers were also absent from the steel-cutting ceremony for HMS Birmingham at BAE Systems' Govan yard in April 2023, part of the £4.2billion Type 26 frigate programme. The row over Rolls-Royce, which is ready to support an enormous submarine welding centre in Glasgow, came after it was revealed a £2.5million grant from Scottish Enterprise was withheld due to a party ban on 'munitions' funding. Steve Carlier, president of submarines at Rolls-Royce, warned the FM the project 'cannot continue' without the public funding. A Scottish Government spokesman repeated its long-standing policy position is that it does not use public money to support the manufacture of munitions. He added: 'We recognise the importance of the aerospace, defence and shipbuilding sectors for Scotland's economy, and are committed to ensuring Scotland is the home of manufacturing and innovation. Ministers continue to engage with industries across the country, including the defence sector, as part of this work. 'We have received the letter and will respond in due course.'

Vassell and Armstrong among 12 Killie exits
Vassell and Armstrong among 12 Killie exits

BBC News

time4 hours ago

  • BBC News

Vassell and Armstrong among 12 Killie exits

Captain Kyle Vassell and winger Danny Armstrong are among 12 players leaving Kilmarnock at the end of their had already been announced that Vassell's fellow striker's, Bobby Wales and Innes Cameron, have signed for Swansea City and Barrow the Scottish Premiership club have announced that defender Joe Wright, midfielders Liam Donnelly, Fraser Murray, Kyle Magennis and Aaron Brown, winger Gary Mackay-Steven and goalkeepers Kieran O'Hara and Aidan Glavin are also now out of Kilmarnock "thank each of the departing squad members for the role they have played", they add that "conversations are ongoing with a number of players" and do not say whether any of the out-of-contract players are included in also point out that Liverpool right-back Calvin Ramsay, Oxford United centre-half Stuart Findlay and Leicester City defender Tom Wilson-Brown have returned to their parent clubs following their loan spells at Rugby Kilmarnock add that, following the appointment of Stuart Kettlewell as manager to succeed Heart of Midlothian-bound Derek McInnes, fans should expect updates with the transfer window due to open on 12 Junee.

EUAN McCOLM: Farage might have offended liberal Scots but he isn't screaming into a void when it comes to immigration
EUAN McCOLM: Farage might have offended liberal Scots but he isn't screaming into a void when it comes to immigration

Daily Mail​

time4 hours ago

  • Daily Mail​

EUAN McCOLM: Farage might have offended liberal Scots but he isn't screaming into a void when it comes to immigration

So much for Nigel Farage, the daring swashbuckler of modern politics. The Reform leader styles himself the fearless defender of the priorities of ordinary people, the renegade who takes on vested interests while declaring uncomfortable truths. But Mr Farage's brio departed him during a visit to Scotland on Monday when he ducked out of a press event called by his own party. The Reform leader had travelled north in advance of Thursday's Hamilton, Larkhall, and Stonehouse by-election and the media was told to expect access to a 'walkabout' he'd be doing with candidate Ross Lambie. However, details of the event remained unforthcoming and Mr Farage later posted photos online showing him strolling through Larkhall with Mr Lambie, untroubled by the scrutiny of the press. Perhaps Mr Farage was reticent to spend more time with my colleagues from the Holyrood lobby on Monday after an earlier press conference turned rather ugly. Last week, the Reform leader defended his party's creation of a Facebook ad which claimed Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar had declared the needs of the Scottish Pakistani community his priority. Challenged over this untrue claim at a press conference in Aberdeen on Monday morning, Mr Farage doubled down, wrongly stating Mr Sarwar had said the south Asian community was 'going to take over the world'. 'To be frank,' said the Reform leader, 'Mr Sarwar has a record of obsessing on this issue. There was the famous speech that he gave in the Scottish Parliament saying, why is the judiciary white? Why are, you know, these leading figures in Scotland white? 'It was the most extraordinary speech given the statistics and figures here. Actually, I think that speech that he gave was sectarian in its very nature.' This was both deeply unfair and wildly reckless. Mr Sarwar has always been a strong advocate for integration, for the breaking down of barriers between those of different races and religions. If he has talked pointedly about race, it has been to describe his personal experience. This is something he has done with courage and dignity. Mr Sarwar's interventions on the subjects of race and religion have been thoughtful and constructive and his opponents across Holyrood would not disagree. What Mr Farage said will only fuel the anger of those who already despise Mr Sarwar for his race. None of that matters to Reform, of course. The truth of what Mr Sarwar may have said in the past was less important than an opportunity to exploit a much undiscussed aspect of Scotland - concern over immigration. A report published by Migration Policy Scotland last year revealed that more than 40 per cent of Scots would like to see a reduction in the numbers of immigrants permitted to enter and remain in the United Kingdom. This might be a minority but it is a substantial one and none of the mainstream parties have been willing to go anywhere near the concerns of these people. On Monday, Mr Farage may have deeply offended liberal sensibilities but he also spoke loudly and clearly to a lot of voters who feel ignored by both the SNP and Scottish Labour. For a long time, the approach adopted by Scottish politicians to tackling Mr Farage was to treat him as an irrelevance. He was nothing more than the living representation of the differences between Scottish and English 'values'. But, despite the best efforts of the SNP to shape a narrative of some fundamental difference between the moralities of the Scots and the English, on issues such as immigration people think very much alike, regardless of which side of the border they live on. Without pandering to the Reform leader, First Minister John Swinney, Anas Sarwar, and Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay will have to find way of talking to voters about some of the questions he raises. Mr Farage is not screaming into a void. Of course, every racist would like to see immigration reduced but that does not mean everyone who would like to see immigration reduced is a racist. If the leaders of the traditional parties do not make this distinction, they will continue to leave this issue ripe for exploitation by the populist right. Support for Reform is not, however, fuelled solely by anger over immigration. Nigel Farage is currently benefiting from the powerful, if rather nebulous, idea that he is the sort of person required to 'shake up' politics. In common with the late Alex Salmond, former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and US President Donald Trump, Mr Farage has the status, among his supporters, of outsider. He's the anti-establishment firebrand who'll put an end to the rotten politics that has failed them for years. John Swinney must, I'm sure, recognise the dark irony of this. In the years before the SNP won its first Holyrood election in 2007, it carefully styled itself a fresh alternative to a stale Labour party that had lost touch with the people it represented. Nationalist leader Alex Salmond used the same rhetoric, of voters 'failed' by the complacent parties of the mainstream, now so effectively deployed by Mr Farage. In a couple of days we'll know whether Reform's Ross Lambie has pulled off what would be the most astonishing election victory in the history of the Scottish Parliament. Both the SNP and Scottish Labour remain publicly confident they can take the seat, made vacant by the untimely death of sitting SNP MSP Christina McKelvie, but both are privately concerned about the extent to which Reform will eat up votes on which they could previously have depended. Election analyst Professor Sir John Curtice reckons the chances of a Reform victory on Thursday slender. He predicts an SNP hold, on a reduced majority. But Sir John warns Labour, if its vote share heavily declines, faces the humiliation of coming third behind Mr Farage's party. Victory in this week's by-election is not essential for Reform. With less than a year to go until the next Holyrood election, the party will be happy with a result that suggests momentum. As things stand, that looks all but guaranteed. Reform stands to pick up a number of Scottish Parliamentary seats next May. On current polling, no party would have an overall majority, leading to the prospect of any government having to depend, on some matters, on the votes of Reform MSPs. Having caused a political revolution as the leading figure in the Brexit campaign, Nigel Farage is now on the brink of wielding considerable power and influence in Scotland.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store