Poppyscotland has announced its intention to merge with the Royal British Legion to create the UK's largest armed forces charity.

If the merger is approved by the Legion's board next month, Poppyscotland will continue to operate as a distinct charity within the Legion group, and will retain the Poppyscotland brand. The Scottish Poppy Appeal will also continue as before.

The merger would mean that an additional £3m will be invested in service provision north of the border over the next three years.

Poppyscotland's membership voted in favour of the merger at an extraordinary general meeting yesterday.  The Royal British Legion board will consider it in late June.

Poppy production at the Lady Haig factory in Edinburgh will also continue and the charity does not expect there to be any redundancies. 

Last year the Poppy Appeal Scotland raised £2.34m whereas the Royal British Legion appeal for 2010 has so far raised more than £34m. Although Poppyscotland's income has risen by 50 per cent over the past five years, there remains a significant disparity in the level of service provision north and south of the border.

Ian McGregor, chief executive of Poppyscotland, said: “Veterans here have not been able to access the same, comprehensive level of support as their counterparts elsewhere in the UK and the merger will go a long way to addressing this.”