Organisations from across Coventry, Solihull and Warwickshire have come together this week to prepare for changes to the Armed Forces Covenant Duty and hear about developments in support for ve...
Organisations from across Coventry, Solihull and Warwickshire have come together this week to prepare for changes to the Armed Forces Covenant Duty and hear about developments in support for veterans.
The Coventry, Solihull and Warwickshire Armed Forces Covenant (CSW AFC) Partnership Conference, held on 20 October, focused on the implications of the forthcoming new Covenant Duty legislations and what it will mean for organisations responsible for delivering public services.
The conference also explored VALOUR, a new national programme designed to make it easier for veterans across the UK to access the care and support they need.
The Armed Forces Covenant Duty requires relevant organisations to give ‘due regard’ to the principles of the Armed Forces Covenant when carrying out functions across a wide range of policy areas.
These include health and social care, education and training, housing, employment, transport, childcare, social security benefits, personal taxation and criminal justice.
The implications also extend across areas such as commissioning, customer services, contracted services and employment, making it important that organisations understand how the Duty should be reflected in their policies, services and decision-making.
The conference brought together leaders, policy makers and service professionals to develop their understanding of the changes and consider the practical actions organisations will need to take to meet the new requirements.
Attendees also heard about VALOUR from the Office for Veteran Affairs and its ambition to improve how support for veterans is coordinated nationally, regionally and locally, helping people access the right support, in the right place, at the right time.
Valour is a new MOD led £50M UK-wide support service for veterans and their families, helping to improve access to the right support when needed, a key commitment of the Veterans Strategy. The MOD is encouraging all providers of support to veterans and their families – from statutory services such as local government and NHS, through to small grassroots charities – to link in with VALOUR and become part of the national networks of support that the service is becoming. As part of this the Veterans Contact Point in Nuneaton eagerly awaits the results of the bid for VALOUR funding with an announcement from the Minister for Veterans and People due in early November
The conference also heard from Betknowmore UK, which highlighted the impact gambling-related harm can have on members of the Armed Forces community. The session raised awareness of the signs of gambling harm and the specialist support available to serving personnel, veterans and their families.
Overall, there are 70,000 veterans in the sub-region, 2,500 regular serving personnel and 1,000 reservists. The plan is to be working with over 5,000 members of the armed forces community across the three years.
Cllr Dale Keeling, Chair of the Coventry, Solihull and Warwickshire Armed Forces Covenant Partnership said: “Today’s conference was so important ahead of the introduction of new legislation bringing significant changes to how the covenant will work and be delivered locally.
“We’re committed to supporting our armed forces community, veterans and their families. Gaining a full understanding of new laws and how VALOUR will work locally has been critical to that.”