Armed Forces Covenant
The Armed Forces Community Covenant (AFCC) Team in Warwickshire County Council support people in the Armed services, reservists, Gurkas, and veterans (anyone who has completed at least one day’s service in the forces) with housing, employment, schools, healthcare, and other issues.
Healthwatch Warwickshire met up with the AFCC team to discuss some of the problems that members of the Armed Forces community encounter when they get relocated to another part of the country. If they are on any waiting lists (e.g. for housing, or medical treatment) they can potentially get put to the bottom of the list. The AF covenant team is there to assist people in this situation.
The Armed Forces Covenant is a pledge made as a nation, that:
Together, we acknowledge and understand that those who serve or who have served in the armed forces, and their families, should be treated with fairness and respect in the communities, economy and society they serve with their lives.
The purpose of the Covenant is to ensure that service personnel, ex-service personnel and their families are not disadvantaged through military service, and have equal access to any form of service, support, or information.
All Local Authorities are signed up to the Covenant. They would like hospitals and GPs to sign up too, as there is additional funding available for GPs that are treating patients from the Armed Forces Community.
The British Legion gives support to people with PTSD or other Mental Health issues, and Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership Trust (CWPT) have a fast-track for people from the armed forces who have Mental Health related problems.
