The Armed Forces Covenant: the new duty and resources available

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Finally, we’d love to hear more about how you are implementing the Armed Forces Covenant locally, we’re always eager to showcase the work of councils. You can email me, Jack Lister, any time to let us know the work you’re doing, and we’ll work to highlight that across our global membership.

This briefing was written by Jill Morgan and originally published on 21 February, 2023.

The Armed Forces Covenant (‘the Covenant’) is ‘a promise from the nation that those who serve or have served in the armed forces, and their families, are treated fairly’. It is a promise that they should not be disadvantaged because of their service and allows for special provision, when justified, for those who have sacrificed the most, e.g. the injured and the bereaved.

The Covenant is described as ‘a national responsibility involving government, businesses, local authorities, charities and the public’. It focuses on helping members of the armed forces community have the same access to commercial and government services as other citizens and covers a number of areas such as education, housing, employment, healthcare, financial help, family well-being and discounted services. In November 2022, the legislation governing the Covenant was amended to include the Covenant Duty (‘the Duty’).

This briefing will be of interest to officers and councillors concerned with a wide range of different council services – as listed above.

Briefing in full

The Armed Forces Covenant Duty

The Legislation

The Armed Forces Act 2021 amended the Armed Forces Act 2006 (‘the Act’) and inserted sections 343AA to 343AF. These sections place a legal duty known as the Covenant Duty (‘the Duty’), on specified public persons and bodies (‘specified bodies’), to have due regard to the principles of the Armed Forces Covenant when exercising certain statutory functions in the fields of healthcare, education and housing (‘relevant functions’). ‘Due regard’ requires the specified bodies to consider and place appropriate weight on the principles of the Covenant when they consider all of the factors relevant to how they carry out relevant functions.

More specifically, the Act specifies the following ‘relevant functions’:

Healthcare

In the settings of NHS Primary Care, NHS Secondary Care, and local-authority delivered healthcare services, the following functions: provision of services; planning and funding, and; cooperation between bodies and professionals.

Compulsory education settings

Admissions; educational attainment and curriculum; child wellbeing; transport; attendance; additional needs support; and, for England only, use of Service Pupil Premium Funding.

Housing functions

Allocations policy for social housing; tenancy strategies (England only); homelessness; and disabled facilities grants.

Councils play a key role in providing and commissioning services with partners and multi-agency work around the individuals’ and families’ needs. The Ministry of Defence published Guidance in November 2022 which is designed to help assist the specified bodies comply with their legal obligations. It provides information on the Duty and those who are beneficiaries of the Duty within the Armed Forces Community.

The Act allows the Secretary of State to extend, by regulations, the scope of the Duty to include additional bodies and functions, in order that it can be adapted to meet the changing needs of the Armed Forces Community. However, the Secretary of State must consult the Devolved Administrations and other appropriate stakeholders before making regulations under that power.

Aims and implications of the Duty

The Armed Forces Covenant Duty applies to all specified bodies, whether or not they have signed the Covenant pledge. It requires a specified body, when exercising a relevant function, to have due regard to:

The unique obligations of, and sacrifices made by, the armed forces;
The principle that it is desirable to remove disadvantages arising for Service people from membership, or former membership, of the armed forces. and;
The principle that special provision for Service people may be justified by the effects on such people of membership, or former membership, of the armed forces.

The aims of the Duty are to raise awareness of the Covenant’s principles and the reasons for it, but also to improve decision-making where the Armed Forces Community is concerned. Whilst the duty applies to the whole of the UK, there are differences in the legal frameworks and administrative procedures underpinning the relevant functions. As such, the Duty works in accordance with the legal system where the body operates. Local authorities are specified bodies in England, Wales and Scotland.

Where it is alleged that an organisation has failed to consider the Covenant Duty, it should first be raised with the organisation in question and their complaints process should be followed. If it remains unresolved, it can be referred to the Ombudsman.

Forces in Mind Trust report

The Forces in Mind Trust released a report in conjunction with Shared Intelligence and Meri Mayhew Consulting, called ‘A Decade of the Covenant’, which reviews the delivery and impact of ten years of the Armed Forces Covenant. In an earlier report by the Trust – ‘Our Community – Our Covenant’, it developed a core infrastructure which outlined what councils needed to put in place in order to deliver the Covenant effectively.

In its latest report, it found that there is a better uptake of the core infrastructure since 2016 amongst local authorities. However, the slowest progress has been made on action plans: it found that over one-quarter of councils do not have one in place and only around 40% of councils have one which is in place and regularly monitored and reviewed. The report found that 97% of councils thought that having an officer point of contact helped reduce disadvantages. 98% thought that having a mechanism for collaboration and information sharing helped to reduce disadvantages and 98% thought that taking action to find out about the needs of the armed forces community helped reduce disadvantages.

Overall, the report found that councils should review their approach to the Covenant in line with the revised core infrastructure and toolkit contained within the report. The report draws attention to the benefits of working in clusters to make the best use of resources and promote consistency. Helen Helliwell, Director of Armed Forces People Policy at the Ministry of Defence, said:

“I welcome this latest report, which adds deeply to our knowledge of how the Covenant is being delivered across the whole of the UK. Since the first of these reports was published, many councils have embraced the recommended methods of having both a dedicated councillor champion and lead officer, to work together to deliver the spirit and letter of the Covenant. I hope now that this approach is more widely adopted in councils across the UK, and look forward to continuing to work together to improve the lives of our Armed Forces Community.”

The latest report did reveal, however, that service personnel, their families and veterans need to come forward to help local communities to support them. It is imperative that they provide as much information about their situation as possible. This helps councils to determine where people may face disadvantages when trying to access services and, therefore, enables them to take steps to resolve the situation. When commenting on the report, Defence Minister Mark Lancaster said:

“The MOD wants to make sure it is listening to its people and to local councils when considering how to most effectively implement the Armed Forces Covenant. The ‘Our Community – Our Covenant’ report provides clear examples of how that can be done. I encourage members of the Armed Forces community and local councils to read it and understand their part in it.”

The Covenant Fund

The Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust (‘the Trust’) delivers funding programmes that create change for armed forces communities in the UK. It is a charity and is classified as a Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB). It looks after the Armed Forces Covenant Fund (‘the Fund’) which is worth £10m each year. The Trust works with partners in government and in the charity sector to develop programmes. The Fund has four themes:

Non-core healthcare services for veterans.
Removing barriers to family life.
Extra support, both in and after Service for those who need help.
Measures to integrate military and civilian communities and allow the armed forces community to participate as citizens.

Grants are awarded by the Trust via specific programmes that are developed following evidence of challenges that people in the armed forces community face. Each programme has an aim, which describes the change that it is hoped the projects will achieve.

The Veterans’ Strategy Action Plan: 2022-24

The Office for Veterans’ Affairs (OVA) published the Veterans’ Strategy Action Plan: 2022-24 (‘the Action Plan’) in January 2022. The Action Plan discusses the actions that the UK government will take to support veterans and their families. The Action Plan involves collaborative working with local authorities, other statutory service providers, service charities, academia and the private sector. In respect of local authorities, it discusses:

How barriers have been removed in terms of veterans accessing local authority housing support.
How the OVA will work with the DHSC, the DLUHC and others to explore options around the introduction of veteran-aware training for social work teams in every local authority in England.
How the OVA also made a commitment to conduct regional engagement with local authorities to understand the data that they collect and hold in respect of the veteran community.
The commitment the OVA and Ministry of Defence (MOD) have made to engage quarterly with local authorities through the MOD Community Action Group to discuss key policy issues affecting veterans and their families, and to enable information and best practice sharing between central and local government.
How the Welsh Government will use their Armed Forces Liaison Officers (AFLOs) to work together with local authorities to improve housing data.

The Strategy for Our Veterans – taking the strategy forward in Scotland: refreshed action plan

Following the cross-UK Strategy for our Veterans launched in 2018, the Scottish government published an action plan in January 2020 for taking the strategy forward in Scotland. This was meant to be a long-term strategy until 2028 but following the impact of Covid and other developments, the Action Plan was refreshed. The Principles of the Action Plan are:

Veterans are first and foremost civilians and continue to be of benefit to wider society.
Veterans are encouraged and enabled to maximise their potential as civilians.
Veterans are able to access support that meets their needs when necessary, through public and voluntary sectors.

The Action Plan makes a commitment to offer all Local Authority Champions the opportunity to meet with the Cabinet Secretary for Veterans at least once per year to develop the partnership approach in delivering the Veterans’ Strategy and to review the terms of reference for the group. It also promises an improvement to training and resources for service providers engaging with the Armed Forces and veterans community, e.g. by promoting the Forces Connect products that have been developed for local authorities.

Local authority case studies and other support

Portsmouth City Council works in partnership with a range of organisations to provide housing support to members of the armed forces community. It recognises and responds to barriers that some members of the armed forces community can face with housing.

Warwick District Council, as one of the main signatories of the Warwickshire Armed Forces Covenant, asks applicants for voluntary and community grants, to consider how the service needs of the armed forces community can be embedded into their work where relevant and appropriate.

The City of York devised a framework of assessment to document local authority covenant implementation. This includes consideration of the local armed forces community when devising new strategies, and policy revision linked to service delivery. The aim is to support the equality of access to services, particularly in supporting adult social care to adjust their policies to take account of the Covenant.

Midlothian Council partnered with the MOD and 2 SCOTS to develop the purpose-built Scots Corner Early Learning and Childcare Centre. It provides Service children aged between two and school entry, with free early learning and childcare which is provided by Midlothian Council staff.

Telford and Wrekin Council were awarded the Gold Award from the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (DERS) in 2020. The council has made a commitment to their armed forces staff and their families through provision of ten extra paid days’ leave for reservists, supportive HR policies, delivery of events celebrating the armed forces and support to local cadet units.

Calm Cafes for Veterans are run by Telford Mind and aim to offer early intervention to those experiencing poor emotional and mental health. They provide a platform for social interaction and hope to fill the void caused by isolation and detachment after Service. They are funded by the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust as part of their Strengthening Delivery programme.

Council Tax rebates for qualifying households were announced by the UK government in February 2022. The MOD introduced a scheme to mirror this. Service personnel paying a Contribution in Lieu of Council Tax (CILOCT) for Types A – 5 Service Family Accommodation, as of 1 April 2022, qualified for this and around 31,000 Service personnel received a £150 rebate in August 2022.

Rhonda Cyon Taf Council introduced a guaranteed interview scheme in January 2022, aimed at all service leavers, veterans and reservists who meet the essential criteria for any vacancy set out in any council employment pack.

Over 80 members of staff at Cardiff Council and 70 members of staff at the Vale of Glamorgan Council were trained by the Veteran Mentor between October 2021 and March 2022, helping to increase knowledge and awareness of the support that is available.

Powys County Council was awarded £10,000 to support Nepalese service families with language skills under the Forces for Change grant. This also helped support integration between the school and the local community.

Resources

The Armed Forces Covenant and Veterans Annual Report 2022 is a joint and integrated report between the MOD and the Office for Veterans Affairs in the Cabinet Office. It is the UK government’s annual update to Parliament on delivery against the Covenant as it applies to service personnel, veterans, the families of both and those who are bereaved, and the Strategy for our Veterans. It covers actions that the UK government and devolved administrations have taken to deliver the Covenant and the Strategy across the UK and covers delivery in respect of matters such as governance, healthcare, education, housing, inquests and judicial engagement, the UK Armed Forces Families Strategy update, business, employment and the community and the Covenant in law.

The Coventry, Solihull and Warwickshire Armed Forces Covenant partnership has developed a programme of e-learning modules, two of which are relevant to local authorities: ‘The Armed Forces Covenant for Frontline Staff’ and ‘Housing, Homelessness and the Armed Forces Covenant’. The training helps staff understand and apply the principles of the Covenant at a local level and includes sources of information and support.

The updated Forces in Mind trust report contains a toolkit which recognises the role of local authorities in convening local action and local partnerships. It is designed to enable effective local collaborative working.

The Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (DERS) encourages employers to support defence and to inspire others to do the same. It involves bronze, silver and gold awards for employers that pledge, demonstrate or advocate support to defence and the armed forces community, and align their values with the Armed Forces Covenant. Whilst it is targeted at private sector support, public sector authorities such as local authorities are eligible to be recognised.

The LGIU’s Global Local Bulletin featured an edition focused on support for veterans.

Comment

The Armed Forces Covenant is a government-backed scheme to assist those from the Armed Forces Community which focuses upon their specific needs. One of the key features of the Armed Forces Act 2021 is a statutory duty to implement the principles of the Covenant in the day-to-day delivery of council services, which includes housing, healthcare and education. It is clear that councils across the UK have made real progress in terms of adopting the Covenant and schemes and programmes tailored to the Armed Forces Community. The latest legislation further reinforces this, obliging councils to take positive action.

The Covenant, and the new Duty that goes with it, does not require local authorities to give greater priority to armed services personnel and veterans than to others in need of council services and employment but seek to ensure that they are given fair and equal access to those services and employment opportunities and that their additional needs, that may have arisen from their service to their country, are fully recognised.

Local authorities are responding well to their commitments under the Covenant, as the case studies included in this briefing demonstrate, but councils are struggling to balance budgets in a, seemingly, never-ending period of austerity and cuts to public services. All new duties on local authorities require national government to look at the resource implications of those duties in its deliberations on budget allocations. We will wait and see if this new duty is recognised in the UK government’s budget statement next month.