07 Apr 25. Report: Armed Forces Covenant. Legislation alone not enough to fix Armed Forces Covenant that is “falling short”. The Defence Committee today (Tuesday 8 April) publishes its report “The Armed Forces Covenant”. The report contains recommendations for how the Government could improve the way the Covenant works as part of its manifesto commitment to put the Covenant “fully into law”.
Inconsistent implementation
The report finds inconsistent implementation of the Armed Forces Covenant, leading to people who have served, and their families, being put at a disadvantage as a result of their service. Evidence provided to the Committee suggests that a worrying number of Service personnel and their families feel that the Covenant had been ineffective in their case – or worse yet, had been disregarded. Some Service personnel who wrote to the inquiry said they had fallen to the bottom of NHS waiting lists when they were required to move to a new place of duty, meaning they missed out on treatment. Others described difficulties obtaining school places for their children. In cases like these, the Government and society are falling short of their commitment to the Armed Forces community. However, the Committee found that there are examples where the Covenant does work well, improving outcomes and removing disadvantage for Service personnel, their families and veterans.
Expanding and strengthening the Covenant
In today’s report, the Committee calls for the Legal Duty – the duty to give due regard to military service – to be expanded to central government departments and the devolved administrations. If done properly, the Committee states its expectation that Whitehall departments take the needs of the Forces community into account during policy development, so that the Forces community are not unintentionally disadvantaged by new policies, as has sometimes been the case in the past. The Committee’s report emphasises the importance of a deliverable Covenant and urges Government to work with those who will be bound by it and expected to deliver it, ensuring they must be appropriately resourced to enable them to do so. The Committee calls for understanding of the Covenant to be deeply embedded in our institutions and in wider society.
Chair of the Defence Committee, Tan Dhesi MP, said: “Our Armed Forces dedicate their lives to protecting our nation and make huge personal sacrifices in doing so. Military service can take a toll on personnel and their families. Service can be difficult, demanding and dangerous, so society must work hard to ensure that no one suffers disadvantages for serving the country. The Armed Forces Covenant is supposed to support those who have served, but unfortunately, our report today finds that the Covenant is inconsistently implemented – delivering value for some, but not others. We heard evidence of personnel being financially disadvantaged, unable to access necessary medical care, or unable to find an appropriate school for their children, due to their service. When the Covenant works – it works well. Personnel and their families told us that they had successfully made use of the Legal Duty of the Covenant to access services. But this is a lottery, made worse by the unpredictability and mobility of service life. When trying to access healthcare, each move can send Service families to the bottom of waiting lists for treatment. Our report calls for the Covenant to be strengthened and expanded in law, and for Government to be much more proactive in ensuring the Covenant is properly understood and consistently implemented across all parts of our society. Government must provide guidance and direction, so that both the private and public sector have clarity on what their responsibilities to Service personnel and their families are, and so that personnel, families and veterans can rely on the Covenant wherever they are.”