Manchester City Council
Executive
Item 6
17 May 2013
Manchester City Council
Report for Resolution
Report To:
Executive - 17 May 2013
Subject:
Armed Forces Community Covenant
Report Of:
Chief Executive
Summary
To outline the Armed Forces Community Covenant and propose that a Covenant is
signed by the Council
Recommendations:
1. That Manchester City Council agree to sign up to the Community Covenant
with the objectives set out in the report.
2. That the support services currently provided for the armed forces community
in Manchester be noted and that effective signposting of these services be put
in place.
3. That data from customers accessing services from the City and its partners be
collected to help build up a picture of the service community in the City and
assist forward planning.
4. That further work be undertaken including with local partners to review and
develop opportunities to support the service community in Manchester, and to
continue to raise awareness and develop mutual support in the local
community.
Wards Affected: All
Community Strategy Spine
Summary of the contribution to the strategy
Performance of the economy of
the region and sub region
None directly
Reaching full potential in
education and employment
The City will work with its partners to ensure that
members of the service community are not
disadvantaged in education or employment as a
result of their membership of the service
Manchester City Council
Executive
Item 6
17 May 2013
Individual and collective self
esteem – mutual respect
An objective of the Community Covenant is to
raise awareness of the Armed Service community,
promote understanding and encourage support
between the service and civilian communities
Neighbourhoods of Choice
None directly
Implications for:
•
•
•
Equal Opportunities Policy - Yes
Risk Management - No
Legal Considerations - No
Financial Consequences – Revenue and Capital
None
Contact Officers:
Name:
Position:
Telephone:
E-mail:
Marilyn McGuinness
Executive Assistant
0161 234 3249
m.mcguinness@manchester.gov.uk
Background documents (available for public inspection):
The following documents disclose important facts on which the report is based and
have been relied upon in preparing the report. Copies of the background documents
are available up to 4 years after the date of the meeting. If you would like a copy
please contact one of the contact officers above.
MOD/LGA Letter of October 2013
www.mod.uk/covenant
British Legion Best Practice Guide to Community Covenants
Manchester City Council
Executive
Item 6
17 May 2013
1.0
Introduction
1.1
The Armed Forces Covenant was published by Government in May 2011. This
outlined the moral obligation between the Nation, the Government and the
Armed Forces and set out the general principles that should govern their
relationship. One of the key elements of the Covenant was the launch of a
Community Covenant scheme.
1.2
Community Covenants are intended to complement the Armed Forces
Covenant at a local and regional level. A Community Covenant is a voluntary
statement of mutual support between a civilian community and its local Armed
Forces Community, which is defined as serving personnel, veterans and their
families. The aim is to encourage communities to support their local service
community in a tangible way, and vice versa.
2.0
The Armed Forces Community in Greater Manchester and the NW.
2.1
The Armed Forces community comprises regular and reserve service
personnel both serving and veterans and their families. There is no precise
data on the Armed Forces community with homes or with families in the city.
However, the region is a major recruiting ground for the services and a
proportion of those involved are likely to live and/or have family in the City.
The armed forces community can be viewed in the following four cohorts:
those before service, those in service, those transitioning from service and
those after service veterans. Information currently available is as follows.
Pre-service:
o About 20% of the Army is recruited from the North West from 11% of
the population. The position is similar for both the RN and RAF;
o There are 6,700 Army Cadets in the region, of which 1,400 are in 47
detachments in Greater Manchester;
o The Army conducts a series of national, regional and local youth
outreach programmes with a number of partners.
In Service:
o If about 20% of the Army is recruited from the North West, when they
join their units, their families likely remain in the region;
o There are about 5,000 servicemen, regular and active reserve,
stationed in the North West. In Greater Manchester there are no regular
units but there are eight TA units, including one in Manchester. With
their families they make up a population of about 3,000.
Transition from service:
o If about 20% of the Army is recruited from the North West, then about
the same number may return to the area post service. Transition out of
the Armed Forces is a critical process to get right and needs local
support.
o Evidence indicates about 92% of servicemen find employment,
accommodation and make the early transition to civilian life without
issue within 6 months of discharge. Effective support from the Armed
Forces, public service providers, military charities and the community is
essential in facilitating successful transition.
Manchester City Council
Executive
Item 6
17 May 2013
o A minority encounter difficulty which has a human cost, a reputational
cost and a real cost in terms support services. Measures to ensure that
vulnerable ex service personnel are identified and supported at an early
stage are therefore essential. This group may be more complex due to
redundancy over the next few years.
Post Service: Veterans:
o The number of veterans in the North West is not known but if there are
about 5 million veterans in the UK today, then it probably isn’t less than
500,000; and if the region recruits up to 20% of the three services, then
it could be upward of 1M.
o Most Veterans make the transition without issue; but a small but
important minority will struggle and be vulnerable.
o The veterans community is complex and changing, including 70 year
old Korean War veterans, 50 year old Falklands Veterans and 24 year
old Afghanistan veterans, all with different experiences and needs.
3.0
The Community Covenant
3.1
The aim of the Community Covenant Agreement is to build on existing
relationships and service provision in order to avoid disadvantage to the
armed service community and to promote the continued development of a
reciprocal arrangement between the local service and civilian communities.
3.2
The Local Authority and the local armed forces community are encouraged to
work together to establish a Community Covenant in order to:•
•
•
•
•
3.3
encourage local communities to support the Armed Forces community
in their area, promote understanding and raise awareness of issues
affecting the Armed Forces Community;
encourage activities that help to integrate the Armed Forces into local
life;
recognise and remember the sacrifices faced by the Armed Forces
community;
encourage the Armed Forces community to help and support the wider
community, whether through participation in events and joint projects or
other forms of engagement;
raise awareness of local services provided by the council, partners and
the voluntary sector in the City.
Community Covenants are not intended to be identikit documents but should
reflect local circumstances. However, some of the issues for the Armed Forces
community that should be considered as part of signing up to a Community
Covenant include:
- housing, including access to affordable properties & social housing and
home adaptations
- employment support
- health and social care
- education and skills
- leisure and libraries
Manchester City Council
Executive
Item 6
17 May 2013
- information and advice
3.4
Some examples of practical measures being taken in other areas include:
dedicated web pages providing information for the armed forces and
signposting to service providers; support for ex - service personnel re-enter
the jobs market; dedicated housing support staff; allowing base addresses to
be used for school applications; developing records of the local armed service
community; and community projects eg local history.
3.5
The Community Covenant is also supported by the Community Covenant
Grant Scheme (£30M over 4 years nationally) which delivers financial support
for local community projects to strengthen ties or mutual understanding
between members of the armed forces community and the wider community in
which they live. Successful projects in other areas include a community youth
group, a scheme for training volunteers and an Armed Forces history club.
4.0
The City Council and the Armed Services
4.1
The Council has had a close working relationship with the local armed
services community, the Royal British Legion and others over many years,
particularly in relation to our role in co-ordinating the Remembrance Sunday
commemoration, the annual Armed Forces Day celebration and other civic
events. The Council has also recognised the role and contribution of the
armed services by conferring Freedom of Entry to the City to 207
(Manchester) Field Hospital (Volunteers) in October 2011 and previously to
the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment in July 2007. The Council has also
appointed a lead member for the Armed Forces in Manchester, Councillor
Judge and the Council’s Strategic Director for Families Health and Wellbeing,
will act as the lead officer for the Community Covenant, supported by the Chief
Executive’s Office.
4.2
The City Council and its partners provide a range of services that can be
accessed by the armed forces community. As part of the Covenant, it is
proposed that provision will be reviewed and developed where appropriate,
with our partners. Some of the key services currently provided are
summarised in the appendix.
5.0
Recommendations
5.1
Following discussions including the lead member and representatives of the
local Armed Services and the RBL, it is recommended:(i)
(ii)
(ii)
(iii)
that Manchester City Council agree to sign up to the Community
Covenant with the objectives set out above;
that the support services currently provided in Manchester be noted
and that effective signposting of these services be put in place;
that data from customers accessing services from the City and its
partners be collected to help build up a picture of the service
community in the City and assist forward planning;
that further work be undertaken with key local partners to review and
Manchester City Council
Executive
Item 6
17 May 2013
develop opportunities to support the service community in Manchester;
and to continue to raise awareness and develop mutual support in the
local community.
Manchester City Council
Executive
Appendix - Item 6
17 May 2013
APPENDIX: Support for serving personnel, veterans and their families
Health and Social Care
The Greater Manchester Local Area Team of NHS England will have the lead responsibility
for ensuring that the Armed Forces covenant and associated commitments are delivered.
This includes core requirements in new contracts for the provision of primary care services
and increasing and improving access to mental health services. NHS England are
represented on the Manchester Health and Wellbeing Board (H&WB) along with all NHS
organisations commissioning and delivering services in the City. The Council's Strategic
Director for Families Health and Wellbeing, who is the lead for the Community Covenant, is
also a member of the H&WB. The Board is therefore ideally placed to ensure joint work
across health and social care meets the needs of armed services community in the City.
Housing
The Council's Allocations Scheme, which determines access to social housing, both Council
stock and through nomination agreements with Registered Providers, prioritises Armed
Forces Personnel with a local connection. Any applicant who needs to move to suitable
adapted accommodation because of a serious injury, medical condition or disability which he
or she, or a member of their household, has sustained as a result of service in the UK Armed
Forces can be awarded Band 1, the highest priority under the Allocations Scheme. This
applies where the applicant’s current accommodation does not meet the requirements of the
occupants in terms of adaptations.
Education
School Admissions: national guidelines apply. This group is not automatically a priority group
but must be given a school place on notification of them moving into the area. Where there is
no place available the group are considered as an exception to infant class size and we
would allocate to a school over numbers if necessary at Key Stage 1. Local arrangements do
not specifically relate to this group but this could be considered.
Employment
Signposting and supporting ex service personnel to access work in the City through the
Employer Suite and other local employment initiatives.
Within the Council, apprentice recruitment supports targeted individuals - could consider
extending to veterans; also pre-employment training.
Community and Cultural Services
Generic services available to all residents. As part of the emerging Covenant, review access
to leisure provision and also opportunities through the volunteering bureau through
signposting individuals to specific training, development and volunteering opportunities in the
community using existing skills and experience and helping the move towards future career
options
Financial Advice and Support
The Customer Services Team will provide support and guidance to returning armed forces
personnel/customers who are seeking information and advice on what financial support
maybe available through the welfare benefits system based on their circumstances and
provide them with assistance in completing their application if they are eligible.
In service: Local discretion to fully discount Council Tax charges for properties left
unoccupied by armed forces personnel in the course of their duties eg. overseas posting.
Manchester City Council
Executive
Appendix - Item 6
17 May 2013
Post service: In the new Council tax Support Scheme; the Council will continue to disregard
war disablement pensions and pensions for war widows and widowers when working out
entitlement to housing benefit and council tax benefit.