Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council
We, the undersigned, commit to honour the Armed Forces Covenant and support the Armed Forces Community. We recognise the value Serving Personnel, both Regular and Reservists, Veterans and military families contribute to our business and our country.
The Armed Forces Covenant
An enduring covenant between the people of the United Kingdom, Her Majesty’s Government and all those who serve or have served in the Armed Forces of the Crown and their families
The first duty of Government is the defence of the realm. Our Armed Forces fulfil that responsibility on behalf of the Government, sacrificing some civilian freedoms, facing danger and, sometimes, suffering serious injury or death as a result of their duty. Families also play a vital role in supporting the operational effectiveness of our Armed Forces. In return, the whole nation has a moral obligation to the members of the Naval Service, the Army and the Royal Air Force, together with their families. They deserve our respect and support, and fair treatment.
Those who serve in the Armed Forces, whether Regular or Reserve, those who have served in the past, and their families, should face no disadvantage compared to other citizens in the provision of public and commercial services. Special consideration is appropriate in some cases, especially for those who have given most such as the injured and the bereaved.
This obligation involves the whole of society: it includes voluntary and charitable bodies, private organisations, and the actions of individuals in supporting the Armed Forces. Recognising those who have performed military duty unites the country and demonstrates the value of their contribution. This has no greater expression than in upholding this Covenant.
Section 1: Principles of the Armed Forces Corporate Covenant
1.1 We Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council will endeavour in our business dealings to uphold the key principles of the Armed Forces Covenant, which are:
- no member of the Armed Forces Community should face disadvantage in the provision of public and commercial services compared to any other citizen;
- and in some circumstances that special treatment may be appropriate especially for the injured or bereaved.
Section 2: Demonstrating our commitment
2.1 Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council recognises the value serving personnel, reservists, veterans and military families bring to our business. We will seek to uphold the principles of the Armed Forces Covenant, by pledging to the following:
We also pledge the following:
Employment, Economic Growth and Skills ? Supporting Reservists by offering them additional days of annual leave (paid/unpaid) to carry out their duties. Reservists will be granted a maximum of 2 working weeks leave of absence with full pay to attend their annual camp. In exceptional circumstances a further 2 weeks may be granted. Should they be placed on a long-term assignment, they can provide evidence that they have no alternative other than to take up the assignment. In such circumstances, they will be granted excused unpaid leave of absence which will guarantee continuous service. They must make arrangements to maintain pension contributions if they wish to do so. - Offering a guaranteed interview to Veterans seeking employment who fit the criteria for a role. - Offering a Dudley employment service called Connect to Work (C2W). C2W will include veterans as one of the “vulnerable” categories that qualifies for Dudley’s C2W support. This will include the Connect & Care Checklist: A practical tool for employers to guide positive engagement with injured workers. It focuses on connection, engagement, support, return to work and education and training. It builds leadership capability to use the checklist effectively and support vulnerable workers through theoretical and practical learning - The Armed Forces Community can also access Dudley’s Employability Service - People and Skills: this supports with employability needs starting with motivation and confidence building through to an employer engagement service that is open to all aged 19+. This is not set up specifically for the Armed Forces Community, but this can be accessed by Dudley residents. - VALOUR was announced recently for a combined UK wide approach to Veteran services to include employability. Dudley Council will engage with this; proposal will be starting in 2026. Community, communication, engagement and outreach (Health & Wellbeing) - Providing and promote training, such as e-learning, to Dudley Council staff on the Armed Forces Community. We currently have 4 eLearning training sessions on our internal training system these include 1. The Armed Forces Covenant ? Induction 2. The Armed Forces Covenant for Customer Facing Staff 3. The Armed Forces Covenant and Covenant Duty Explained ? Housing 4. The Covenant Duty Explained ? Health Senior Officers ? Promoting the Armed Forces Covenant, the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme and the support for the Armed Forces Community to staff, customers/service users, Voluntary sector, supply chains and the wider public. ? Providing a dedicated Armed Forces page on website, located here ? Appointing an Armed Forces Elected Member Champion to support council services with the Armed Forces Covenant Duty, linking the armed forces community directly to information and advice about council services. ? Having a direct contact to a council representative via Public Health to support with accessing services in the council i.e. housing, education, financial support and links to further community & health services and Armed Forces support. ? Leading Dudley?s Armed Forces Covenant Partnership, with quarterly meetings to share experiences, good practice, good news stories and overcome challenges. ? Working with partners to ensure good representation from Dudley Council and associated partners at Armed Forces Partnership and other related meetings. ? Promoting the Armed Forces Covenant Partnership across Dudley. Showcase services that are supporting the community through newsletters, mailing lists and events. ? Encouraging partners to sign up to Dudley?s Community Information Directory, Dudley Council can then share the information to support the Armed Forces community to find out more about the Dudley locality. ? Working in partnership with local and regional Armed Forces agencies to ensure best practice across Dudley council, developing a co-produced action plan for the Armed Forces partnership to implement, which will support with meeting the needs of the Armed Forces Community. ? Taking part in and/or promote awareness-raising schemes, such as veteran-friendly accreditation for GP practices and the Veterans Covenant Healthcare Alliance, the details will be published on our Armed Forces Covenant website and through our newsletters and mailouts. ? Ensuring available dedicated healthcare services for members of the Armed Forces Community, such as Op COURAGE in England, are signposted and promoted. ? Working with the Black Country Armed Forces Local Authority Partnership to support and oversee the commissioning (THRIVE Together Funding) of the community organisation Tough Enough to Care to support the Armed Forces Community with their mental wellbeing, who will be developing an Armed Forces Ambassador Project. Commercial ? Ensuring Members of the UK Armed Forces Serving Personnel or a Veteran (dependants not included) are eligible for the Options+ discount scheme which allows access to a whole list of activities at our three leisure centres for half price. Options+ can also save 50% on tickets for a selection of live entertainment at Dudley Town Hall and Stourbridge Town Hall, admission to selected events at Himley Hall and CD and DVD hire at Dudley Libraries. Schools ? Noting, promoting and/or making use of the provisions for Armed Forces families in the School Admissions Code (England) by allocating school places in advance of a family arriving in a local area. ? For schools with Service children among their pupils, Dudley have developed a clear strategy for the effective use of any dedicated funding (for example the Service Pupil Premium in England) in support of Service pupils. ? Supporting and promoting the wellbeing of Service children, recognising the experiences and challenges they may face. Promoting Dudley Council as a Forces Friendly Organisation ? Supporting Armed Forces Week, Reserves Day and Remembrance by organising, facilitating, promoting and/or taking part in Remembrance and other Armed Forces events. Dudley Council?s Events Team organise the largest Armed Forces Day Event in the Black Country, located at Himley. The event is always hugely popular with lots of engagement and support from the public and services. ? Using AFC and ERS logos on marketing collateral, website, publications, e-mail footers etc ? Attending Employer Engagement events with DRM and single Services ? Promoting the following of Armed Forces Day/Reserves on Facebook and Twitter within our organisation. ? Posting messages of support on social media sites and links to the Armed Forces Day website. Civic responsibilities ? Ensuring upkeep of war memorials and war graves, with support from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
2.2 We will publicise these commitments through our literature and/or on our website, setting out how we will seek to honour them and inviting feedback from the Service community and our customers on how we are doing.