Agenda item

1.                                                     The Leader of the County Council, Mr R W Gough, introduced the report and emphasised the high value placed on the Covenant by the County Council and the importance of the Council’s good relationship with the armed forces.

2.                                                    The Council’s Armed Forces Champion, Mr O Richardson, advised that, although the Armed Forces Act of 2022 had placed on local authorities a legal duty to take account of the Covenant, the County Council already had an established relationship with the armed forces, and had signed up to and championed the Covenant since 2011. He summarised the activity in the last year to celebrate the role of the armed forces in Kent, to mark the anniversaries of major conflicts and to raise awareness of issues facing armed forces families currently serving, those leaving the services, and veterans. The 2021 census had included for the first time a question about service in the armed forces and had shown that 4.1% of the population of Kent were serving or had served.

3.            The Covenant lead, Canon Peter Bruinvels, emphasised how much he valued the Council’s support of the Covenant and of the armed forces and the close relationship they enjoyed. He advised that Council was one of the first signatories and was unusual in having its Covenant signed by both a County Council and a Unitary Authority. He emphasised that the Armed Forces Act had received cross-party support in Parliament and that support for the armed forces was very much unaffected by any party politics. He advised that many of the duties and requirements introduced by the Act were already in place and being met as part of Kent’s regular practice. He then set out his wishes and aims for the future, to further improve the work being done and raise the profile of the Covenant, and encouraged all County Council Members to continue championing and supporting the armed forces in Kent.  The Chair referred to the purpose of the Covenant set out in the report, to ‘encourage support for the Armed Forces Community working and residing in Kent and to recognise and remember the sacrifices they have made for us to keep Britain safe and free.’ and added that all Members would surely endorse this aim whole-heartedly.

4.          Canon Bruinvels then responded to comments and questions from the committee, including the following:-

a)    the Covenant highlighted the debt of gratitude that Kent owed to its armed service personnel, past and present. The work being undertaken within the Covenant was described as inspirational;  

b)    Members who had attended events run by Canon Peter and the team commented that events had been well attended and supported;

c)    the current Vice-Chairman of the Council, Mr G Cooke, stated that he would continue the current commitment to the Covenant when he became Chairman later in 2023;

d)    asked how the Council could support the work being undertaken by Kent Hospital Trusts, Canon Peter advised that he was keen for all hospitals and GPs’ surgeries to have as high an awareness as possible of the issues facing ex-service personnel, veterans and their families. Current training initiatives should achieve a new level of awareness by March 2023, and it was hoped and planned that health premises would advertise their awareness and support of ex-service personnel and encourage them to feel more confident about raising wellbeing issues. Members were invited to check this awareness in their local areas. The committee was reminded that ex-service personnel did not tend to like to seek help;

e)    asked about the experience of children of service families in accessing school places and coping with regular school moves, he advised that each Directorate would include a Covenant Champion who would raise the profile of these issues, for example, in relation to SEND issues.  The ‘Pupil Voice’ initiative of the Department for Education would help support these issues, and he urged County Council Members who served as school governors to check that their local schools were using this properly and not absorbing it into the Pupil Premium; and

f)        asked about casework with army reservists, he advised that this used the armed forces charities SSAFA across Kent, which provided volunteer caseworkers to visit families in their homes to advise on and help them apply for benefits, such as the Disabled Facilities Grant.  The charity was short of suitable volunteer caseworkers and would always welcome more.  It was known that as many of 4% of ex-service personnel could suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and some campaigners seeking to raise awareness of this condition, along with other funds such as Help for Heroes, had access to specific funds to help support those living with the condition. All cases would be considered on their individual merits.

5.                                                    It was RESOLVED that:-

a)     all that is being done to deliver the Armed Forces Covenant in Kent, and the County Council’s continued commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant at both a county and district level, be noted and welcomed; and

b)        the future priorities set out in the report, including promoting the Council’s ongoing work to continue being an Employer Recognition Gold Award exemplar, be agreed and committed to.