Veterans are being left suicidal by problems caused by Universal Credit, a Scottish Government minister has said.
Graeme Dey believes ex-servicemen and women claiming under the new benefit regime face particular challenges due to their military service, including being more likely to have a reduced income.
The Veterans Minister said charities including Erskine, Blesma and Scotland's Bravest Manufacturing Company raised concerns about the impact of Universal Credit.
In a letter to Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd and Defence Minister Tobias Elwood, Mr Dey said: "Unfortunately, the lack of dedicated support for veterans and the in-built inflexibility within UC has been a contributing factor in several shocking and tragic case studies, and the veterans' charities have reported that there are cases where veterans have been left suicidal.
"The charities have gone above and beyond their remits to support these individuals but they are concerned about what the future holds as many more veterans migrate on to UC as a result of a change in circumstances."
He added: "Veterans seeking to adjust to civilian life are more likely to undergo changes of circumstances as they resettle and the natural migration to UC that this will result in risks causing additional upheaval for them at a time when they most need support.
READ MORE: Call to halt 'disastrous' Universal Credit roll-out as millions face losing £50 a week
"This is also likely to result in a reduced income as those migrating naturally will not be eligible to receive transitional protection."
Mr Dey said veterans may be suffering from physical disabilities or mental illness and the charities suggested those they help in some cases have poorer literacy skills.
He said: "The requirement for all UC applications to be completed online is therefore challenging for many.
"The application process also requires a large amount of information, which may not be readily accessible, especially for early service leavers or those who have been discharged due to disability."
He called for assistance for veterans at the start of the claims process and said ignoring the problems "would risk failing in our joint commitment to members of the armed forces community".
Mr Dey urged the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to have forces and veterans champions in Job Centre help veterans access appropriate support.
A DWP spokesperson said: "We value our armed services and veterans.
"Universal Credit provides veterans and their families with a range of specialised support through the Armed Forces Covenant, there is an armed forces champion in every district and Jobcentre staff work closely with charities, such as the Royal British Legion."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here