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1127390

	registered interest
	date	20/05/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Armed Forces Covenant
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	How many organisations have signed up to the armed forces covenant.
	tabling member constituency	Thirsk and Malton
	tabling member printed	Kevin Hollinrake
	uin	910986
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/05/2019 answer text <p>To date over 3,600 organisations have signed the Covenant at an average rate of 30 per week, up from five per month in 2014. In addition, all Local Authorities in Great Britain and four in Northern Ireland have pledged to uphold the Armed Forces Covenant.</p><p> </p><p>Broadening support for the Covenant is a top priority for the Ministerial Covenant and Veterans Board and the Armed Forces Covenant annual report outlines the progress we have made.</p> answering member constituency Bournemouth East answering member printed Mr Tobias Ellwood question first answered 20/05/2019 16:45:48 answering member 1487 label Biography information for Mr Tobias Ellwood
	tabling member	4474 label Biography information for Kevin Hollinrake

631034

	registered interest
	date	07/11/2016
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Armed Forces Covenant
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the implementation of the Armed Forces Covenant by local authorities.
	tabling member printed	Lord Kennedy of Southwark
	uin	HL3053
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/11/2016 answer text <p>The Covenant’s principles were enshrined in law in the Armed Forces Act 2011. This Government has demonstrated its commitment to upholding these principles, which is evident in the work reported in each of the four annual reports laid in the House. We will continue to report progress to Parliament. Next month’s Annual Report will detail the considerable progress made across government and with wider public, private and third sectors, including in the key areas of education, healthcare, accommodation and access to commercial services.</p><p> </p><p>Every Local Authority in mainland Great Britain and two in Northern Ireland have signed a Community Covenant. We are working with them to help them deliver the support they have promised to the Armed Forces community, with good work in many areas including housing, education, health and social care.</p><p> </p><p>Together we have taken a number of steps forward in this area, such as allocating funding from a £20 million budget to improve childcare facilities for Service families at 40 locations in the UK and Cyprus. In order to help Service children through local schools’ admissions processes, we have changed the Schools Admission Code in England to give them priority by allowing Service families to apply for and be allocated a place before they move into an area.</p><p> </p><p>This year approximately £21 million was allocated in Service Pupil Premium payments for the pastoral needs of almost 70,000 Service pupils in state schools in England. In 2015, £6 million in grants was given to 154 applicants for Education Support Funding, to help UK state schools mitigate issues caused by exceptional mobility and deployment.</p><p> </p><p>Furthermore, we have worked closely with the Department for Communities and Local Government and Devolved Administrations to ensure that Service personnel do not experience any disadvantage as a result of their military service when applying for social housing.</p> answering member printed Earl Howe question first answered 17/11/2016 16:23:23 answering member 2000 label Biography information for Earl Howe
	tabling member	4153 label Biography information for Lord Kennedy of Southwark

675732

	registered interest
	date	19/01/2017
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Armed Forces Covenant
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what guidance they have given to local authorities regarding the training required to ensure that local authority staff properly implement the policies of the <i>Armed forces covenant for communities</i>.
	tabling member printed	Lord Touhig
	uin	HL4807
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/01/2017 answer text <p>The conclusions and recommendations of the report “Our Community – Our Covenant” are available at the following address <a href="http://www.fim-trust.org/%20reports/" target="_blank">http://www.fim-trust.org/ reports/</a> and include practical guidance, a tool kit and a self-assessment section, which have been commended to Local Authorities across the UK.</p><p> </p><p>A cross-Government Action Plan is currently being drafted to promote and assess progress. This is being supported by Covenant Funding available to Local Authorities who wish to adopt new processes or initiatives in support of the Covenant. This includes building on existing good practice; in Warwickshire, for example, an IT training package on the Covenant and how it applies to that community is in the process of being launched.</p> answering member printed Earl Howe grouped question UIN HL4806 question first answered 30/01/2017 16:23:52 answering member 2000 label Biography information for Earl Howe
	tabling member	542 label Biography information for Lord Touhig

385728

	registered interest
	date	25/06/2015
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Armed Forces Covenant
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 27 June (HL501) regarding the distribution of the armed forces covenant (Libor) fund, who selected the charities for funding; when; and on what basis.
	tabling member printed	Lord Laird
	uin	HL852
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/07/2015 answer text <p>In 2013, the Government made £35 million available to deliver Armed Forces Covenant commitments from fines levied on banks for the attempted manipulation of Libor. The cross-Government Covenant Reference Group, which is chaired by the Cabinet Office and includes representatives from key Government Departments, the Devolved Administrations, the Service charity sector, and the three Service Families Federations, set the priorities for the fund. The first two tranches focused on mental health and support for Service families, while the third tranche was open to any project meeting the principles of the Covenant.</p><p> </p><p>In 2014, a further £40 million of Libor funds were made available specifically to support veterans with a housing need via the Veterans Accommodation Fund (VAF). The criteria and application process for both schemes were published on gov.uk.</p><p> </p><p>Both funds were administered by the Armed Forces Covenant team. Against the agreed priorities, applicants had to demonstrate evidence of need, experience of providing a service and value for money. A decision panel was convened to agree the final allocation of funding.</p><p> </p><p>The panel for the £35 million fund sat three times between 2012 and 2014 and included representatives from the Ministry of Defence Covenant and Financial Governance teams, H M Treasury, COBSEO, the three Service Families Federations, and the Welsh and Scottish Governments.</p><p> </p><p>The panel for the VAF sat on 7 July 2014 and included representatives from the Ministry of Defence Covenant and Financial Governance teams, H M Treasury, the Welsh and Scottish Governments, the Army Families Federation, The Royal British Legion and COBSEO Housing Cluster.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Earl Howe question first answered 06/07/2015 15:18:31 answering member 2000 label Biography information for Earl Howe
	tabling member	2479 label Biography information for Lord Laird

675731

	registered interest
	date	19/01/2017
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Armed Forces Covenant
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the <i>Armed forces covenant for communities</i>, published on 12 January, what action they are taking to help local authorities to adapt their policies to remove disadvantages faced by members of the armed forces community.
	tabling member printed	Lord Touhig
	uin	HL4806
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/01/2017 answer text <p>The conclusions and recommendations of the report “Our Community – Our Covenant” are available at the following address <a href="http://www.fim-trust.org/%20reports/" target="_blank">http://www.fim-trust.org/ reports/</a> and include practical guidance, a tool kit and a self-assessment section, which have been commended to Local Authorities across the UK.</p><p> </p><p>A cross-Government Action Plan is currently being drafted to promote and assess progress. This is being supported by Covenant Funding available to Local Authorities who wish to adopt new processes or initiatives in support of the Covenant. This includes building on existing good practice; in Warwickshire, for example, an IT training package on the Covenant and how it applies to that community is in the process of being launched.</p> answering member printed Earl Howe grouped question UIN HL4807 question first answered 30/01/2017 16:23:52 answering member 2000 label Biography information for Earl Howe
	tabling member	542 label Biography information for Lord Touhig

347251

	registered interest
	date	28/05/2015
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Armed Forces Covenant
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government, since it began, how much armed forces covenant funding has been allocated to projects in (1) England, (2) Scotland, (3) Wales, and (4) Northern Ireland.
	tabling member printed	Lord Laird
	uin	HL115
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/06/2015 answer text <p>I refer the noble Lord to the answer given by my hon. Friend, the Minister for Defence Personnel and Veterans (Mark Lancaster), in the House of Commons on 2 June 2015 to Question number 428 from the hon. Member for St. Helens North (Conor McGinn).</p><p> </p> answering member printed Earl Howe attachment 1 file name 20150601-40M Veterans Accommodation Fund[1].doc HL 115.doc title Veterans Accomodation Fund 2 file name 20150601-35M LIBOR Fund(2).xls HL 115.xls title LIBOR FUND (Excel Spreadsheet) question first answered 08/06/2015 15:20:24 answering member 2000 label Biography information for Earl Howe
	tabling member	2479 label Biography information for Lord Laird

1666943

	registered interest
	date	24/10/2023
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Armed Forces Covenant
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made with the implementation of the Armed Forces Covenant throughout all parts of the UK.
	tabling member printed	Lord Weir of Ballyholme
	uin	HL10798
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/10/2023 answer text <p>The Armed Forces Covenant continues to be a key Government priority and provides support to the Armed Forces community across the UK, ensuring that they are treated fairly. This commitment was strengthened in November 2022 with the introduction of a new statutory Covenant Duty. This places a duty of due regard on specific public bodies to ensure they consider the Covenant principles when conducting certain of their functions in healthcare, housing, and education, with the aim of improving outcomes for the Armed Forces community.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, over 11,000 organisations have signed pledges in support of the Covenant to the wider benefit of the Armed Forces community.</p><p> </p><p>The Armed Forces Covenant applies equally across the UK, including Northern Ireland. Good progress is being made in delivery of the Covenant in Northern Ireland, though its unique historical and political circumstances mean that delivery of the Covenant has to be approached in a different way to the rest of the UK. The Armed Forces Community in Northern Ireland is currently supported through 38 (Irish) Brigade, the Veterans Welfare Service Northern Ireland, and the Northern Ireland Veterans' Support Office. These organisations work with government departments, local councils, and the third sector to ensure that serving personnel and veterans, and their families, get the support they need.</p> answering member printed Baroness Goldie grouped question UIN HL10799 question first answered 26/10/2023 10:15:50 answering member 4306 label Biography information for Baroness Goldie
	tabling member	4970 label Biography information for Lord Weir of Ballyholme

228517

	registered interest
	date	19/03/2015
	answering body	Department for Communities and Local Government
	answering dept id	7
	answering dept short name	Communities and Local Government
	answering dept sort name	Communities and Local Government
	hansard heading	Armed Forces Covenant
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effect of changes in funding to local authorities on their ability to support Armed Forces Community Covenants.
	tabling member constituency	Barnsley Central
	tabling member printed	Dan Jarvis
	uin	228485
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/03/2015 answer text <p>Local authorities share in our national commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant, and have signed Community Covenants committing to support the Armed Forces community in their area and promote understanding amongst local people. Local councils and residents will know the needs of their communities and can decide their spending priorities appropriately.<br><br>We have introduced a number of measures over the last few years as contribution towards meeting the objectives of the Armed Forces Covenant to ensure that the Armed Forces Community does not face disadvantage, patricularly in housing. This includes:<br><br><strong>Funding for local authorities</strong><br><br>We have set aside £200,000 in 2014/15 from the annual Disabled Facilities Grant funding for local authorities to fund home adaptations (eg ramps, walk-in showers, stairlifts) to meet the needs of disabled ex-service personnel who wish to live independently in their homes.<br><br>We have provided grants (totalling over £1 million) with MOD, to a small number of local authorities in 2011 and 2012 to support the successful integration of retired Gurkha soldiers who wished to settle in the UK.<br><br><strong>Improved access to social housing</strong><br><br>We have introduced protection to ensure that former and current Service personnel are not disadvantaged in accessing social housing because of the disadvantages of military life. We have made sure that seriously injured personnel and former members of the Armed Forces with urgent housing needs are always given high priority for social housing, and that serving personnel and those who have recently been discharged do not lose their qualification rights because of the requirement to move from base to base.<br><br>We have also encouraged local authorities to, in general, give sympathetic consideration to the housing needs of family members of serving or former Service personnel.<br><br><strong>Preventing homelessness</strong><br><br>We have introduced measures to provide support for specialist accommodation for veterans, and work with councils to prevent homelessness. We have also introduced initiatives such as Streetlink and No Second Night Out which ensure that when veterans end up sleeping rough they are offered care and support from local services.<br><br><strong>Access to home ownership</strong><br><br>Members of the Armed Forces have been given priority for Government-funded shared ownership schemes and are able to access Help to Buy: equity loan scheme. The priority status can be transferred to bereaved spouses or civil partners. We have also worked with MOD, credit reference agencies, and Royal Mail to standardise Forces' Post Office addresses so personnel are not disadvantaged when applying for mortgages.<br><br></p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins question first answered 24/03/2015 12:04:46 answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins
	tabling member	4243 label Biography information for Dan Jarvis

168860

	registered interest
	date	09/12/2014
	answering body	Department for Communities and Local Government
	answering dept id	7
	answering dept short name	Communities and Local Government
	answering dept sort name	Communities and Local Government
	hansard heading	Armed Forces Covenant
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what resources his Department has allocated to local authorities to meet their obligations under the Armed Forces Covenant.
	tabling member constituency	West Dunbartonshire
	tabling member printed	Gemma Doyle
	uin	217899
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/12/2014 answer text <p>Local authorities share in our national commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant and should meet their obligations from own resources. Though we have set aside £200,000 in 2014/15 from the annual Disabled Facilities Grant funding for local authorities to fund home adaptations (eg ramps, walk-in showers, stairlifts) to meet the needs of disabled ex-Service personnel who wish to live independently in their homes.</p><p> </p><p>We have provided grants (totalling over £1 million) with MOD, to a small number of local authorities in 2011 and 2012 to support the successful integration of retired Gurkha soldiers who wished to settle in the UK.</p><p> </p><p>We have also introduced a number of measures over the last few years as a contribution towards meeting the objectives of the Armed Forces Covenant to ensure that the Armed Forces Community do not face disadvantage, particularly in housing. This includes:</p><p> </p><p><strong>Improved Access to Social Housing </strong></p><p> </p><p>We have introduced protection to ensure that former and current Service personnel are not disadvantaged in accessing social housing because of the disadvantages of military life. We have made sure that seriously injured personnel and former members of the Armed Forces with urgent housing needs are always given high priority for social housing, and that serving personnel and those who have recently been discharged do not lose their qualification rights because of the requirement to move from base to base.</p><p> </p><p>We have also encouraged local authorities to in general give sympathetic consideration to the housing needs of family members of serving or former Service personnel.</p><p><br><strong>Preventing Homelessness </strong></p><p> </p><p>We have introduced measures to provide support for specialist accommodation for veterans, and work with councils to prevent homelessness. We have also introduced initiatives such as Streetlink and No Second Night Out which ensure that when veterans end up sleeping rough they are offered care and support from local services.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Access to home ownership</strong></p><p> </p><p>Members of the Armed Forces have been given priority for Government-funded shared ownership schemes and are able to access Help to Buy: equity loan scheme. The priority status can also be transferred to bereaved spouses or civil partners.</p><p> </p><p>We have also worked with MOD, credit reference agencies and Royal Mail to standardise Forces’ Post Office addresses so personnel are not disadvantaged when applying for mortgages.</p> answering member constituency Great Yarmouth answering member printed Brandon Lewis question first answered 15/12/2014 15:37:51 answering member 4009 label Biography information for Sir Brandon Lewis
	tabling member	4063 label Biography information for Gemma Doyle

906322

	registered interest
	date	17/05/2018
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Armed Forces Covenant
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many businesses have signed up to the Armed Forces Covenant since its commencement.
	tabling member constituency	York Central
	tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
	uin	145378
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/05/2018 answer text <p>As at 22 May 2018 a total of 2,541 organisations have signed the Armed Forces Covenant. Details of all Armed Forces Covenant signatories and their pledges are available on the gov.uk website at the following link:</p><p>https://www.gov.uk/government/policies/armed-forces-covenant.</p> answering member constituency Bournemouth East answering member printed Mr Tobias Ellwood question first answered 24/05/2018 15:00:18 answering member 1487 label Biography information for Mr Tobias Ellwood
	tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell