Agenda item

Consultation, discussion and formulation of the terms of the Community Covenant with the Armed Forces, before presenting to County Council for formal signing.

The Community Engagement Manager (CEM) introduced a report regarding an Armed Services Covenant. 

All Welsh Local Authorities had been asked by the WLGA and others, to sign a Community Covenant with the Armed Forces which sought to establish a commitment of care to serving Service personnel, their families and veterans.  The aims of the covenant were to encourage local communities to support the service community in their area and increase awareness and understanding amongst the public of issues which affected the Armed Forces Community.  The report contained a draft Covenant defining what could be offered to the Armed Services personnel in order to ensure they did not suffer any disadvantage when accessing public services.

A Community Covenant is a voluntary statement of mutual support between a civilian community and its local armed forces community.  It was intended to compliment the national Armed Forces covenant which outlined the moral obligation between the nation, the government and the armed forces at a local level.

The report had been unanimously endorsed by Council in September 2012 and requested Communities Scrutiny Committee satisfied itself on the measures Denbighshire wished to adopt.

It was important to underpin the ethos that the Armed Forces were not disadvantaged when accessing Denbighshire services, however, the Council must also be careful not to actively discriminate in their favour to the detriment of other groups in society unless positive discrimination was already enshrined in legislation.

The suggested measures to be adopted by Denbighshire were set out fully within the report (5.2).

The council were bound by legislation and the armed forces personnel received additional housing points compared to other members of the community.  It would be challenging looking after the residents of Denbighshire and making sure legislation was met.  Most measures were within the report, not because armed services personnel would be given priority, but because they were governed by legislation.

CEM to take the housing issue back, to obtain clarification of the legislation.  Once clarification received, he would inform the Committee.

The issue of employment was raised as a similar issue to housing.

CEM confirmed he would obtain clarification on the issue.  Discussions would also take place with agencies, who provided career advice etc.  All employment agencies were involved with the covenant.

The discount to Leisure Centres offered by Denbighshire County Council to armed services personnel would not disadvantage other groups.   Discount was available to members of the police force, and fire service and it had been agreed armed services personnel fell into this category also.  The discount would be for actively serving personnel, not veterans or families of armed service personnel.  The discount would be restricted to access to the swimming pool and gym only.

A question was raised if members of the Territorial Army or Cadets were included. 

CEM stated they were not but would seek guidance to this question.  The actual template of the covenant had been agreed, so a lot of ethos in terms of how it should be adopted was now in place.

The Covenant was a living document which could be reviewed.  Once Scrutiny agreed to the recommendations, the intention would be to formally adopt the Covenant at a future Council meeting with representatives from the Armed Services, and other outside organisations in attendance.

CEM suggested the report be brought back to Committee on an annual basis and if additional measures needed to be added or removed, this could then be dealt with.

The Chair stated that once clarification of the points were obtained then there was no need for further discussion by Communities Scrutiny.  Agreed to endorse the measures for it to be presented at a future Full Council meeting.

RESOLVED that the Communities Scrutiny Committee:

i)                    endorses the Community Covenant with the Armed Forces subject to clarification being provided of the potential impact on housing and employment in Denbighshire;

ii)                  agree to add a report to the Forward Work Programme to be considered in 12 month’s time which will allow the Committee to review the Measures contained in the Covenant.