Agenda item

The Committee will receive a report which provides:

·       An update on the work of the Kirklees Armed Forces Covenant Board

·       An overview of the Armed Forces Bill 2021/22 and the associated preparatory work being undertaken in conjunction with partners.

Contact: Vina Randhawa, Democracy Manager

Vina Randhawa, Democracy Manager presented a report which provided an update on the work of the Kirklees Armed Forces Covenant Board, and an overview of the Armed Forces Bill 2021 and the associated preparatory work being undertaken in conjunction with partners.

Councillor Masood Ahmed, the Council’s Armed Forces Champion and Councillor Naheed Mather, the Cabinet Member for Environment and the relevant Portfolio Holder were in attendance.

The Committee also welcomed Jim Dodds and Colin Cranswick, members of the Kirklees Armed Forces Covenant Board.

Vina explained that the figures set out in the report for Kirklees were based on the 2011 Census and that updated data would be available from Spring 2022.

Councillor Ahmed said that significant work had been undertaken to further develop the work of the partnership, with limited resources, and he thanked Vina and the members of the Board for their work.  He highlighted the following positive initiatives; Kirklees was now working towards achieving the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme Gold Award; the Board’s engagement with the West Yorkshire Good Practice Forum; and promotion of the masterclasses run by the Ministry of Defence in respect of Defence Transition Services and the Veteran’s Welfare Service. He said that the partnership was strong and productive, with around forty representatives of different services attending meetings, and the Action Plan was nearing completion. Work was ongoing to update the website and there was a wish to develop e-learning packages and perhaps a community directory for Kirklees. The Board would work with partners to try and address recognised gaps in terms of NHS representation.

Jim Dodds and Colin Cranswick echoed Councillor Ahmed’s comments and thanked both him and Vina for their contributions. They commented that:

·       The Covenant was moving forward but progress was slow, in the main, due to a lack of resources. A Life Forces Guide had been produced in 2014 and distributed to all doctors’ surgeries. This needed to be updated but this could not be undertaken without funding. An excellent app had been developed with Huddersfield University, which could act as a gateway to accessing help for veterans, but again resources were needed to progress to production.

·       The Chair of the Board needed to have the capacity to engage with partners and promote the Covenant within Kirklees.

·       The meetings of the Board were very productive.

·       A number of other authorities had appointed a dedicated officer to advise on the implications of the Covenant and associated responsibilities.

·       It was considered that the position in Kirklees was excellent overall, but a single point of entry would be beneficial to avoid people being passed around the organisation and having to repeat information.

Questions and comments were invited from Committee Members, with the following issues being covered:

·       The Committee expressed support for the principles of the Covenant and confirmed that the need to understand the particular issues affecting members and former members of the armed forces, and to support them, was recognised. Members thanked all those who had contributed to the work of the Board and acknowledged the positive actions and results achieved to date.

·       It was considered that the response was affected by the national position in terms of healthcare, education and housing provision.

·       Any individual experiencing being passed around the organisation was not acceptable and this should be addressed.

·       An important role of the local authority was advocating with other agencies on behalf of residents.

·       The co-production of the Action Plan, alongside serving and former soldiers, and the learning being taken from their lived experience to allow them to influence the development of services was welcomed.

·       Councillors Smaje and Zaman undertook to assist in respect of the issue of health representatives on the Board.

·       In response to questions about champions within services and connections with Children’s Services, it was explained that a representative of Pupil Admissions attended the Board. There was an expectation that attendees from different services would disseminate information and learning from the Board back to their service but perhaps the champion role could be progressed to try and ensure this happened effectively.

·       A number of ex-services personnel regularly attended the Board; they had contributed to the detail of the action plan on the basis of their lived experience and their input was very valuable.

·       Access to services had been considered at the Corporate Scrutiny Panel, and consideration should be given to how service and ex-service personnel are able to access services in the delivery of the Council’s Access Strategy.

·       It was noted that the return in respect of the numbers of Council staff who had been part of the armed forces, or had some connection to them, had been quite poor. It was suggested that such people would make ideal champions within services. These points were taken on board and it was suggested that efforts could be made to identify and engage with members of staff with relevant experience and to actively involve them in this work.

·       It was noted that resourcing also covered things such as identifying like-minded people who were willing and able to engage, as well as finances.

Resolved –

1)    That the Armed Forces Board and the officers supporting it be thanked for their work.

2)    That further information be provided for the Committee in respect of the development of the concept of Armed Forces Champions within services.

3)    That the Cabinet Member be requested to consider resourcing, particularly in light of the upcoming changes to legislation, to support and build on the work already undertaken in respect of the Armed Forces Covenant.