Armed Forces Covenant

In Greater Manchester, the Armed Forces Covenant is a commitment by local authorities and their partners from across all sectors to support members of the Armed Forces community in their area.

The aim is to embed and sustain activity, ensuring that members of the Armed Forces community receive the support they need in their local communities in recognition of their dedication and sacrifice. Efforts continue to be made to nurture public understanding and awareness of the issues affecting the Armed Forces community and encourage activities which help to integrate the armed forces community into local life.

The Armed Forces Covenant aims to ensure:

Those who serve, or have served in the Armed Forces, and their families, are treated fairly.
The Armed Forces Community should not face disadvantage compare to other citizens in the provision of services.
Military service and the sacrifice inherent in it should be recognised.

The Greater Manchester Armed Forces Covenant Roadmap, along with the associated Delivery Plan seeks to formalise the way in which partners across the City Region come together to make Greater Manchester the best place in the UK for the Armed Forces Community to live.

The roadmap focuses on the following themes:

Community and Relationships
Employment, Education and Skills
Finance and Debt
Health and Wellbeing
Making a Home in a Civilian Society
Armed Forces Community and the Law

Year 1. Community and relationships: Create effective governance to oversee the Delivery Plan and report to the GMCA . Employment, education and skills: ackle SEND issues in the AFC and deliver common standards across localities. Finance and debt: understand the quantum of veterans and service families suffering through the Cost of Living Crisis. Health and wellbeing: evelop NHS in GM Leadership to augment front line activity. Making a home in a civilian society: Assure partners that we have coherency in all housing related policies for the AFC. Armed Forces Community and the law: mbed the AFC in the Reducing Reoffending Management Board as a key priority. Year 2. Create a mobile AFC marketplace to raise awareness in localities. Ensure that school admission policies are aligned with Armed Forces Act Statutory Guidance. Create a financial support network in GM that exists to guide advise and directly support the AFC. Deliver a pan-GM JSNA for the AFC. Embed the AFC in the Housing First model in GM. Support the creation of an effective multi-agency network to build on existing work. Year 3: Scope the value of the ‘Veteran in Need’ protected characteristic. Deliver the ‘Courses for Forces’ Initiative. Develop a clear financial support pathway for the AFC. rive to 100% AFC literacy in GM Health professionals. Demonstrate the efficacy of a coherent housing offer in GM and lobby for change. Seek to commission research across the GM prison estate applying regional approaches. Year 4: Review ICT systems and their interoperability to create a marker system. Continue to advocate for guaranteed interviews for the AFC in the Private Sector. Deliver a fully kitemarked network of advice and support providers. Create a Health portal for the AFC that allows effective navigation through the Health system. Drive to 100% AFC literacy in GM Housing and Homelessness professionals. Create case for change for Veterans Wings in each HMP. Year 5: Fully embed the AFC as a Community of Interest in Devolution in GM. Have a fully functional AFC employment and skills hub. Continue to deliver a fully kitemarked network of advice and support providers. Ensure that all staff working in Health are aware of the AFC in their patient cohorts. Deliver a package of housing offers that are specifically for the AFC and effectively market. Deliver a replicable support package for victims and perpetrators of crime — Greater Manchester Armed Forces Covenant Roadmap

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