Stratford-on-Avon District Council formally signed the Armed Forces Covenant Pledge on Wednesday 6 November 2024.
The Armed Forces Covenant is a commitment to those who serve or have served in the British military, and to their families. By signing, the District Council commits to treating those who serve, or have served in the armed forces, and their families with fairness and respect.
The Armed Forces Covenant is a pledge that organisations can make to demonstrate their support for the Armed Forces community. By signing the Covenant, the District Council has committed to:
- Promoting the fact that we are an Armed Forces-friendly organisation to demonstrate our support for the regular armed forces, veterans and reservists but also their families and bereaved families.
- Recognising, supporting and attending remembrance events including Armed Forces Day.
The District Council's Pledge
Section 1: Principles of The Armed Forces Covenant
1.1 We, Stratford-on-Avon District Council, will endeavour to uphold the key principles of the Armed Forces Covenant and the Covenant Duty:
- Recognising the sacrifices and obligations made by the whole of the Armed Forces community.
- Members of the Armed Forces Community should not face disadvantages arising from their service in the provision of public and commercial services.
- In some circumstances special provision may be justified, especially for those who have given the most, such as the injured or bereaved.
Section 2: Demonstrating our Commitment
2.1 We recognise the contribution that Service personnel, reservists, veterans and military families make to our organisation, our community and our country. We also recognise the work of the Cadet Force Adult Volunteers as well as the importance of supporting our Armed Forces Cadet organisations and cadets themselves.
2.2 We will seek to uphold the principles of the Armed Forces Covenant and Armed Forces Covenant Duty by:
Organisational Support
We will seek to uphold the principles of the Armed Forces Covenant and Armed Forces Covenant Duty by providing the following Organisational Support
- Promoting the fact that we are an Armed Forces-friendly organisation to demonstrate our support for the regular armed forces, veterans and reservists but also their families and bereaved families.
- Recognising, supporting and attending remembrance events including Armed Forces Day.
- Ensuring that information available to the Armed Forces Community is accessible and continuously reviewed.
- Ensuring we work collaboratively with our public sector partners within our district to ensure the support for the Armed Forces Community.
Housing
We will seek to uphold the principles of the Armed Forces Covenant and Armed Forces Covenant Duty by providing the following Housing and Housing Allowance Support:
- Establishing an Armed Forces Champion within the Housing Team who will be responsible for ensuring that processes and documentation is regularly reviewed and will support colleagues to appropriate service provision to the Armed Forces Community.
- Ensuring a smooth customer journey for the Armed Forces Community by having accessible information available, which is up to date and encourages early communication with the Council.
- Ensuring special criteria are applied for certain serving and former members of the regular armed forces, in relation to the additional preference on Home Choice Plus
- Ensuring that the Armed Forces Community are aware of the advice and support available to them through the local Veterans Contact Point and where appropriate signposting to this service.
- Maintaining the disregard of War Widows Pensions and elements of the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme when calculating housing benefit and council tax claims.
There are special considerations for certain serving and former members of the regular armed forces. This means that you may qualify for additional priority on Home Choice Plus . This is in line with the Armed Forces Community Covenant and the full detail is listed within the Home Choice Plus Allocation Scheme
For further information, please contact the Housing Advice team:
- Telephone: 01789 260861
- Email: housingadviceteam@stratford-dc.gov.uk
Employment Support
We will seek to uphold the principles of the Armed Forces Covenant and Armed Forces Covenant Duty by providing the following employment support:
- Seeking to support our employees who choose to be members of the Reserve Forces, by accommodating their training and deployment where possible, including providing:
- Up to 10 days paid leave per year for the annual camp or other training specific to their Reserve or Adult Cadet Instructor role; and
- Up to 10 days unpaid leave in total within a three-year period, and each successive three-year period thereafter, for additional specialist training to enhance their role of for progression within the Reserve or Cadet Forces.
- Releasing employees for mobilisation in all but exceptional circumstances and providing support before and after mobilisation in achieve a smooth reintegration out of and into work, including maintain continuity of employment for reckonable service purposes.
- Providing a guaranteed interview where the essential criteria for a vacancy is met by external candidates who are:
- Serving Armed Forces personnel during the 12 week prior to their discharge date from the Armed Forces;
- Ex-Armed Forces personnel within 3 years of their discharge date; or
- Where the Armed Forces were their last long-term employer.
- Offering up to a four-week unpaid work experience placement, where possible, for those who are leaving the Armed Forces, also welcoming interest from those who are Wounded, Injured or Sick.
Recruitment
We are open to employing reservists, armed forces veterans (including the wounded, injured and sick), cadet instructors and military spouses/partners, and recognise the range of transferrable skills that this group can offer to our organisation.
We have a Guaranteed Interview Scheme which provides an interview where the applicant meets the essential criteria for the role and where they are in the process of leaving the Armed Forces, or where the Armed Forces was their last role.
In addition, we actively support employees in the Territorial Army and other Reserve Forces by granting two weeks paid leave to attend Annual Camp, and ensuring a paid leave of absence to those staff 'called up' for national Defence duties.
Employees are also able to use the Employee Volunteering Scheme to volunteer for armed forces charities.
