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<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>
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