AFC0068

Written evidence submitted by the Ministry of Defence.

1.     The Ministry of Defence (MOD) welcomes the scrutiny of the Armed Forces Covenant through the Defence Committee Inquiry, we also welcome and thank you for the opportunity to provide evidence about the Covenant, the Covenant Legal Duty and their application within the UK for the Armed Forces community.

2.     Members of the Armed Forces community rely on public services in the same way as civilians, but accessing them can be challenging due to Service life. Furthermore, the stresses and pressures of the job can endure long after Service personnel and their families return to civilian life. They will often have different experiences when accessing and using day-to-day public and private services in the UK when compared to the general population. This is where the Covenant comes in.

3.     This document sets out our findings against each of the areas of evidence that the Committee has requested. The MOD can provide further evidence and detail to the Committee as required.

Background

4.     The Armed Forces Covenant is a promise by the nation for the Armed Forces community.[1] Its two underlying principles are that, recognising the unique obligations of, and sacrifices made by, the Armed Forces:

a)     Those who serve in the Armed Forces, whether Regular or Reserve, those who have served in the past, and their families, including the bereaved, should face no disadvantage compared to other citizens in the provision of public and commercial services.

b)     Special consideration is appropriate in some cases, especially for those who have given most such as the injured and the bereaved.

5.     The Covenant was first published in this form in 2011, and since then, it has been UK Government policy, implemented by Government departments. The Devolved Governments also implement these principles. In addition, more than 12,500 organisations from the public, private and charity sectors have also signed their own pledge to implement these principles .[2] This approach has led to many initiatives to improve the lives of the Armed Forces community, and significant improvement in service provision to the Armed Forces community. Some of these improvements are outlined in the next section.

6.     The Covenant Legal Duty came into force in November 2022. It applies across the whole UK, and places a legal obligation on certain public bodies, primarily at the local level. Included are local authorities, governing bodies of state-funded schools, and various NHS bodies. The obligation on these bodies is to have due regard to the Covenant principles when making decisions and policies about:

a)     Healthcare: (1) provision to the general population of NHS Primary Care, NHS Secondary Care, and local authority-delivered healthcare services; (2) planning and funding of these services; and (3) co-operation between bodies and professionals providing these services.

b)     The compulsory education of children in the general population for: (1) school admissions; (2) educational attainment and curriculum; (3) child wellbeing; (4) transport to/from school; (5) attendance at school; (6) additional needs support; and (7) the Service Pupil Premium (the SPP is England-only).

c)     Housing: (1) allocations policies and tenancy strategies for social housing for the general population; (2) homelessness in the general population; and (3) Disabled Facilities Grants for the general population.

7.     The Covenant and the Legal Duty do not set standards in delivery of services to the Armed Forces to be met across the UK. They do not define or mandate the outcomes that are to be achieved, and are deliberately flexible. This ensures the organisations subject to them have access to key information about the Covenant while retaining the ability to take decisions on service delivery that are right for their local context and circumstances. If the Covenant and the Legal Duty imposed UK-wide minimum standards for service delivery to the Armed Forces community, in some places this could potentially disadvantage members of the local general population with more need.

8.     This is why the Legal Duty is a duty of due regard. It is primarily about raising awareness of the Covenant and the impacts of Service life, and thereby seeking to reduce disadvantage to the Armed Forces community. Due regard is a requirement to consciously consider the Covenant principles and place appropriate weight upon them. It is not about being prescriptive about the approach a body should take in order to comply with their legal obligations, or which particular conclusions are to be reached, or which outcomes are to be achieved as a result of that consideration.

9.     The Government committed to reviewing the efficacy of the Legal Duty within five years of its implementation. This work has already begun. Between May and August 2024, the MOD conducted its first survey to assess the impact of the Legal Duty in the 18 months since it came into force. A report from this survey is provided at pages 72-90 of the 2024 Covenant Annual Report.[3]

10. It is important to note that the Armed Forces Covenant:

a)     Is not a package of benefits, entitlements or compensations.

b)     Is not a guarantee of being looked after for life.

c)     Is not an entitlement to preferential treatment; and

d)     Cannot be used to evaluate the many aspects of Service life which are unique to the Armed Forces, with no comparator in the civilian population. For example, military activity on operations and exercises, provision of military equipment and military training, and treatment for certain Service-acquired injuries.

In what areas is the Armed Forces Covenant working well?

Covenant impact

11. The following are examples of where Covenant principles and the Legal Duty have had an impact since 2011:

a)     Housing

• Regulations, first introduced in 2012, improve the Armed Forces community’s access to social housing in England, by setting out the criteria under which they cannot be disqualified from social housing because of a ‘local connection’ requirement. Also, statutory guidance, first published in England in 2012 and Wales in 2016, ensure that ‘additional preference’ for social housing is given to appropriate groups in the Armed Forces community. As of 31 March 2024, 2,164 households in England which contained members of the Armed Forces community were granted ’additional preference’ for social housing.[4]
• Since 2016, 46 of the UK’s banks and building societies have committed to allowing Armed Forces personnel to rent out their homes without facing higher mortgage costs or having to change their mortgage when posted overseas or redeployed within the UK.
• Op FORTITUDE is the government-backed centralised referral pathway designed to support veterans who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. It is to receive an additional £3.5 million of funding to support veterans at risk of homelessness, building on the 870 veterans who have been supported since its inception in September 2023.

b)     Healthcare

• The Covenant was embedded into NHS England’s constitution in 2015, enabling a range of dedicated NHS physical and mental health services for veterans across England, for health issues arising from Service and the NHS’s priority treatment commitment. In September 2024, the chief executive of the NHS re-signed the Armed Forces Covenant on behalf of NHS England.[5]
• In 2018, NHS England created the Military Veteran Aware Accreditation scheme to improve medical care and treatment for former members of the Armed Forces. By November 2024, over 3,900 practices had signed up.
• Following a successful pilot, Scotland launched the General Practice Armed Forces and Veterans Recognition Scheme in November 2023, which aims to raise awareness of some of the health challenges that the Armed Forces community face.
• Op RESTORE is a bespoke care pathway offered by the NHS providing specialist care and treatment for veterans who have physical health problems that are attributable to their Service. The service has supported over 1,000 veterans so far and receives over £800,000 in funding.
• Op COURAGE has had over 35,000 referrals and receives over £21 million per year to run.[6]
• The NHS Veterans Prosthetics Panel provides funding on a named veteran basis into the NHS Disablement Service Centres to ensure veterans who have service attributable limb loss can access high quality prosthetics regardless of where they live.

c)     Financial

• Since 2016, Service personnel posted overseas have been able to avoid paying motor insurance cancellation fees and protect their no claims discount for up to three years. Developed in conjunction with the MOD Covenant team, the Financial Leasing Authority and the National Franchised Dealers Association have published the motor finance solution for deployed service personnel.
• Since 2017, the UK’s largest broadband and media providers have committed to waiving cancellation fees for Armed Forces families posted abroad or to another part of the UK.
• If a deceased Service person or veteran’s cause of death is found to be attributable to Service, their estate may be eligible for an Inheritance Tax exemption.
• In 2023, eligible War Widow(er)s who forfeited their entitlement to a pension for a Service attributable to death prior to 2015 were invited to apply for a one-off payment of £87,500.

d)     Employment

• In April 2021, the Government introduced a National Insurance relief for up to 12 months for UK employers recruiting veterans and service leavers in their first civilian role after service.
• A recent Career Transition Partnership (CTP) survey of 2022 – 2023  found that of the veterans who used CTP, 89% were employed within six months.[7] This employment rate is higher that the employment rate for the UK general population during the same period (76%).
• As part of their commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) introduced the role of Armed Forces Champion for every Jobcentre Plus district. They provide support for all members of the Armed Forces community including the spouses and civil partners of serving personnel and veterans.

• Public sector employment initiatives include Advance into Justice, a fast-track scheme to support veterans into prison officer roles. The Great Place to Work for Veterans scheme offering veterans a recruitment pipeline into careers across the Civil Service. The NHS’ Step into Health scheme celebrated its tenth anniversary last year with over 2,760 veterans recruited. The Civil Service’ Going Forward into Employment scheme offers (amongst others) veterans and their partners the opportunity to secure a range of Civil Service roles.

e)     Education

• The Department for Education introduced the Service Pupil Premium in April 2011 in recognition of the specific challenges children from Service families face and as part of the commitment to delivering the Covenant. It provides extra funding to state schools, free schools and academies attended by Service children in England. It is now worth £340 per eligible pupil annually. More than £26 million has been paid to schools in the financial year 2023 to 2024, benefitting more than 78,000 pupils.
• The Armed Forces Bereavement Scholarship scheme, established in 2011, gives the children of Service personnel whose death was attributable to Service, the opportunity to apply for scholarships to support further and higher education.
• In 2013, 2014 and 2021, the Government updated the School Admissions Code for England. This introduced and enhanced specific provisions designed to minimise/mitigate disadvantage experienced by mobile Service children  when applying for school places.
• In 2023, the Scottish Government acknowledged that the common policy for determining ordinary residence for higher education funding for Armed Forces families did not apply to funding further education. The Scottish Government subsequently changed guidance to permit the children of Armed Forces families to apply for eligible further education course funding, based purely on their residence in Scotland at the time of application.

• The 2023/24 academic year included the first published data gathered from the introduction of the UCAS armed forces flag. Each university application now includes questions relating to applicants’ connectedness to the UK armed forces. The data generated will be principally used by Higher Education institutions to inform their Access and Participation Plans, which are required to be submitted to the regulator (Office for Students).[8] These plans demonstrate individual higher education institutions approaches to attracting and supporting underrepresented students.
• In February 2024, the Department for Education (DfE) published non-statutory guidance focused on how local authorities should treat Education Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) for children with SEND moving into and out of their area. Importantly, this guidance clarified that local authorities have the legal flexibility to continue to maintain EHC Plans, even in scenarios where pupils temporarily leave England. This was a highly important clarification for armed forces families, which followed significant work between the MOD and DfE. Previously, many local authorities believed that EHC Plans should be legally ceased as soon as a pupil left England. This resulted in serious gaps in provision for Service children on their return to England after accompanying their parent on assignments that temporarily took them outside of England.

f)       Non-UK personnel

• Since April 2022, the fee to Settle in the UK has been waived for those who served in the UK Armed Forces for a minimum of 6 years, those who were discharged due to an injury or illness attributable to service and veterans who meet one of these requirements but had not regularised their UK immigration status on discharge.
• In April 2024, the Government increased the minimum income requirement (MIR) for a family visa application to £29,000. The Home Office and the MOD agreed to align the MIR for the Armed Forces with the 2023/24 salary (£23,496) for Privates and their Royal Navy/Royal Marines and Royal Air Force counterparts on completion of basic training for members, Service leavers and veterans seeking to sponsor dependent family members.

The Armed Forces Covenant Annual Report

12. The Government is statutorily required to prepare a Covenant Annual Report each year. It is the Government’s annual update to Parliament on delivery against the Covenant, covering all four home nations. The 13th annual report is the most recent, and was published in December 2024.[9] It highlights just some of the work carried out to support the Armed Forces community over the past 12 months. It includes contributions from across the MOD, including the Office for Veterans’ Affairs, as well as wider Government departments, the Devolved Governments and third sector organisations.

Societal Engagement

13. The Covenant continues to successfully engage across society. The two recognised pathways achieving this engagement are the signing of Covenant pledges and the follow-on Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS). These pathways are facilitated by Defence Relationship Management (DRM), who provide holistic oversight alongside advice and support for the employment of members of the Armed Forces community including reservists, veterans and the spouses and civil partners of serving personnel and improving fairness for the Armed Forces community.

a)     Covenant pledges

• Thousands of organisations from the public, private and charity sectors have committed their support to the Armed Forces Community by signing a pledge to honour the Covenant, alongside additional bespoke pledges. This has been achieved by improving access to existing goods and services, and, in some cases, by creating new bespoke services or pathways as part of special provision.
• Due diligence, undertaken by DRM, is an integral part of the process. This ensures compliance and understating of the organisation and their commitment.
• The number of Covenant signatories continues to grow with over 12,500 now recorded.[10] By allowing flexibility in how organisations pledge to implement the Covenant principles, charities, organisations, local authorities, and public sector organisations can all apply and tailor their pledge to the organisations need and capacity. This encourages a wide spectrum of support to be offered by many organisations across the whole of the UK.[11]

Figure 1:

b)     Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS)

The ERS is a MOD grant-funded engagement scheme which develops advocates for Defence within civil society. The scheme fosters positive action, promotes reservist friendly workplaces, generates support for the employment of service leavers; spouses and partners of serving personnel; cadet force adult volunteers, veterans and builds advocates within society. The ERS primarily recognises private sector support for the Armed Forces community, though public sector organisations are also eligible.[12]

In the 10 years since its inception, the ERS has gone from strength to strength, recognising over 7,750 awardees.[13] The scheme has three award levels: Bronze, Silver and Gold. These are awarded depending upon the level of commitment an employer organisation demonstrates in supporting Defence and the Armed Forces community. To be eligible for the ERS, organisations must have first pledged support to the AFC. The three ERS levels in precis are:

• Bronze award. There are 5,359 bronze awardees who have ‘declared intent’ to support Defence. They are self-nominated, promote being an Armed Forces friendly employer willing to employ reservists, veterans (including wounded, injured and sick), Adult Cadet Force Volunteers and military spouses and partners.

• Silver award. At silver level, the organisation must tangibly ‘demonstrate support’ for Defence. There are 1,389 silver awardees who have achieved this through tailoring their HR policies to ensure that the Armed Forces community are not unfairly disadvantaged as part of their recruitment and selection processes and ensuring their business not been subject to any negative PR or media activity.

• Gold award. Gold awardees ‘demonstrate and advocate’ to partner organisations, suppliers and customers the benefits of pledging support to the AFC and joining the ERS. There are 1,011 Gold awardees who must be engaged with the CTP, registered with Forces Families Jobs and be seen as exemplar within their market sector.

MOD Covenant Legal Duty Impact Survey Results[14]

14. Responses were received from 201 organisations: 111 Local Authorities, 55 NHS bodies, and 35 schools and colleges. Main Findings of the survey, as published within the Armed Forces Covenant Annual Report 2024 include:

a)     Increased understanding of the Covenant (144 responders agreed). 

b)     Increased understanding of the impacts of Service life (126 responders agreed). 

c)     Organisations doing something differently (115 responders agreed). 

d)     Increased action to mitigate the negative impacts of Service life (51 responders agreed). 

15. The organisations responding to this survey are establishing various elements of a supporting infrastructure. These include:

a)     A mechanism for collaborating and information sharing (169 responders),

b)     A route for members of the Armed Forces community to raise concerns (154 responders).

16. For many of the local authorities and NHS bodies, the legal Duty has encouraged their organisations to better consider the effects of Service life on the Armed Forces community. This has led to a more proactive response and review of practices and policies resulting in a far better connection of agencies and services. For example, as a direct result of the Covenant Legal Duty, East Riding of Yorkshire Council looked again at practices that could unintentionally impact the Armed Forces community. Subsequently, they created an action plan to cohere their existing Covenant initiatives and looked for other improvements that could be made.

17. These key improvements have generally occurred in a majority of the local authorities and NHS bodies who responded. Whilst it is clear that the Duty has successfully increased Covenant engagement and implementation among these organisations, there is still further to go. 

18. Most of the local authorities and NHS bodies responding rated themselves as knowing ‘a lot’ or ‘a moderate amount’ about the Covenant, the Legal Duty, and the potential impacts of Service life.

Where is the Armed Forces Covenant failing the Armed Forces Community? In what areas is the Armed Forces Covenant not working well?

19. Despite extensive support systems and areas of best practice, there is inconsistent implementation of the Covenant at the local levels across the UK which affects all cohorts of the Armed Forces community. This lack of standardisation of delivery, coupled with misinterpretation, and lack of education of the Armed Forces Covenant can weaken the implementation of Covenant principles. Better coordination and coherence of the services offered by Defence to our people is required.

20. Engagement with the Government departments, local authorities, charities, and industry is high with positive implementation and delivery of the Covenant. However, the MOD acknowledges that there are still some areas that require improvement and development to reinforce and strengthen the Covenant. These areas encompass the experiences of the Armed Forces community, the support network available and delivery mechanisms across the UK at all Government levels.

21. There can be a disconnect between the Covenant and those  it serves. This can lead to confusion about what the Covenant aims to do, which can result in personnel disengaging, or becoming frustrated with a system that they perceive to be not working.

22. Awareness of the Covenant remains unchanged since 2022 amongst the serving population, with over half (54%) of personnel knowing at least a little bit about it as reported in the Armed Forces Continuous Attitude Survey 2024.[15] However, a quarter of personnel have never heard of it. Officers are considerably more likely to know at least a little about the Armed Forces Covenant (84%) compared to Other Ranks (46%).

23. Despite ongoing efforts and progress made, the MOD is aware of family members losing access to services when they are re-located by the Armed Forces. These include, but are not limited to:

a)     Employment

• Family members face difficulties maintaining their civilian employment due to relocating around the UK, or abroad, with their serving partner. This is a multi-faceted problem, in which there will be secondary implications for any decision made. Policy to ease any disadvantage in familial employment will need to be cross government.
• Families may also face employment difficulties as they are relocated because of changes in the childcare that is available. There are well-documented issues with childcare capacity across the UK, there are differences in the levels of statutory provision in the different countries in the UK, and there are variations in childcare capacity by posting location, particularly in more remote parts of the UK.

b)     Healthcare

• Some local service providers do not understand the impacts of Service life, and/or the solutions in place to mitigate the impact.
• For example, we have seen this arise when healthcare professionals do not fully understand health conditions arising from Service or being unaware of the healthcare services provided for veterans by the NHS, local authorities and third sector.
• Frequent Service family moves from one NHS Trust to another increase the potential for some family members to wait longer for treatment.
• Service families can also experience challenges registering for a GP. Access to dentistry is an issue for the UK as a whole but it is exacerbated by Service life. Some Service families are making long round trips back to the dentist at their previous posting because they are unable to register with a dentist locally.
• Families returning from overseas face additional challenges when returning with diagnosed health issues. Families receiving care not provided by Defence Medical Services (i.e. accessing the host nation medical care directly) may be put at additional risk.

a)     Prior to an overseas assignment, the MOD will only be aware of a family member’s health needs if they have declared it.

b)     A gap in their health record whilst the family are overseas can be associated with clinical risk to the individual and financial and reputational risk to the MOD.

c)     There is a recognised gap in capability for supporting transition back to the UK’s residential healthcare system, e.g. for facilitating onward referral to National Health Service England if required. This is particularly challenging in complex cases when treatment plans, commenced overseas are not supported in the UK and when multiple agencies are involved.

c)     School placements

• Variations with school admission processes and policies in different local authorities and across the UK means it can be challenging for Service families to navigate, with families with Special Educational Needs (SEN) children encountering further challenges. Progress has been described earlier in this paper in regard to some aspects of SEN. While Education, Health and Care plans (EHCP) are portable between English local authorities, guidance focuses on the transfer of the Plan from one LA to another, which legally happens on the day of the child's physical arrival in an LA area. This can result in limited activity to prepare on the part of the receiving LA, which leads to inevitable delays in school placement and the provision of specialist services.

• The MOD has identified a need for more cross departmental work between departments within the MOD alongside the Department for Education, local authorities and schools. This will ensure that practices are supportive of the Armed Forces community and information is accessible to service personnel on what the Covenant legal duty is and how it can/should be applied to their circumstances.

24. Further to identified policy limitations, there are also elements of Covenant delivery and understanding across the UK that limit the success of its implementation. For example;

1. There are misconceptions about what the Covenant can do and how it supports the Armed Forces community. This is driven by a lack of understanding by end users and demonstrates a need for an improved communications campaign with supporting material to help improve wider understanding.

2. There is also differentiation in how the Covenant is delivered and its application across the UK. The UK-Government has limited authority in certain aspects of support provided by Devolved Governments The Armed Forces community has access to a variety of offers that are tailored to the localised needs of the geographical location. While certain responsibilities are Devolved, the MOD, single Services and charitable partners work alongside Devolved Governments and local service providers to continually improve responses to the Armed Forces community's evidenced needs.

3. Many decisions are made at the local level which limits the ability to impact change, however, UK-Government encourage this flexibility in decision making and are therefore devolved by default. This is also experienced in the application of the Covenant across service providers.

25. Anecdotal evidence shows that local governments who have employed and have active Armed Forces Champions support the Armed Forces community better than those who don’t. The employment of Armed Forces Champions could be shared best practice; however, it is currently widely dependent on resource, time, funding and the individual personalities that are delivering against Covenant outcomes at the local level. This is not something that has a centralised terms of reference or method of success measurement.

Are there areas which the Armed Forces Covenant ought to be extended to, and why?

26. This Government made a manifesto commitment to renew the nation’s contract with those who serve and have served, including their families and the bereaved. A key priority is the extension of the Covenant Legal Duty. MOD officials are currently developing plans to extend the Covenant duty of due regard to UK Government departments and Devolved Governments in a list of broad policy areas. This commitment to fully extend the legal duty will increase education and awareness of the unique nature of service. It will improve coherence and coordination and enable no disadvantage for those who serve, have served, and their families, including those who have made the ultimate sacrifice to uphold the freedoms we enjoy today.

27. The Minister for Veterans and People (MinVP) issued direction to officials to take a maximalist approach when developing policy areas for inclusion. This broad approach is likely to demonstrate and reinforce the Government’s commitment to improving the lives of the Armed Forces community and meet this Government’s priority commitments. MOD officials anticipate that plans for the Duty extension will raise awareness of the Covenant, drive further outcomes for the Armed Forces community, and help mitigate and tackle disadvantage.

28. The Covenant team have established structures in place to engage with OGDs, the Third Sector, DAs and LAs. To date, engagement has been driven through visits, workshops and utilising events for speaking opportunities. Existing established governance structures have been exploited to inform proposals for the Duty extension. For example, the Covenant and Veterans Engagement (CaVE) forum has been used to test thinking further.[16] To develop policy areas, officials undertook an extensive research and engagement programme exercise. This included hosting roundtable discussions and other workshops with more than 150 organisations. A list of organisations engaged with to date can be found at Annex A.

29. Following extensive consultation and from anecdotal evidence provided through the Covenant mailbox, it is likely that there are several areas where disadvantages arising from Service, could be improved through the inclusion in the Duty extension. Proposed areas for inclusion will soon be submitted for consideration via Cabinet write-around.

30. Officials consider that embedding, deepening and mainstreaming Covenant principles and values within decision-making will lead to better and more transparent decisions which will benefit the Armed Forces community. The proposed extension of the Legal Duty will further ensure that relevant policymakers and decision-makers consider the needs of the Armed Forces community.

What legislative changes should be made and why?

31. Subject to agreement, Cabinet Write Round and the Devolved Governments Write Round, officials have submitted a proposal to MOD Ministers. The proposal is to replace the current statutory Duty, limited to Housing, Healthcare and Education, with a similar duty of due regard. The wide span will ensure all areas that can impact on the Armed Forces community will be included. It is our ambition to include these statutory changes in the next Armed Forces Bill.

32. The MOD is working on the necessary impact assessments which include Impact Assessment, Equalities Impact Assessment, Justice Impact Test and the New Burdens Assessment and engaging with relevant departments to ensure expected processes are met and completed to relevant departments’ approval and sign-off within expected timeframes. Whilst this work ensures all governmental processes are completed, it also provides evidence supporting ministerial decisions on proposal to extend the Covenant Duty.

What impact would the extension of the Armed Forces Covenant legal duty to the UK-government and Devolved Governments have?

33. Extending the duty could achieve positive outcomes across a broad range of policy areas where there is evidence of disadvantage to the Armed Forces community and be the mandate to achieve key Government ambitions. In all areas, decisions at both the local and national levels are key in determining if disadvantage occurs.

34. It is likely that further engagement will be required with DAs on a Ministerial level as some proposed policy areas are devolved and require statutory consultation.

Conclusion

35. The differing and sometimes complex needs of the Armed Forces community means there is no one size fits all solution to mitigate disadvantage. The evidence provided within this response demonstrates the work that has, and continues to happen, on behalf of the Armed Forces community.

36. The sustained growth in the numbers of Armed Forces Covenant signatories, alongside award holders of the Employer Recognition Scheme is a testament to the value that society places on our Armed Forces.

37. The MOD recognises that the Armed Forces community continue to face disadvantages due to service life, and that there have been shortfalls when it comes to communication. Lack of messaging and supporting materials, has led to misconceptions about what the Covenant can or should do. A lack of transparency around its delivery, and limitations on authority, has at times limited the success of implementing policy solutions creating a perceived unfairness.

38. The Duty extension offers an opportunity to highlight the essential work of the Covenant and demonstrate where Government at all levels can go further to support the Armed Forces community. We believe that Delivery of the Duty extension, combined with a sustained communications campaign will reinforce the Covenant aims.

Annex A LIST OF ORGANISATIONS ENGAGED WITH TO DATE

 27th January 2025