Aberdeen City Council has approved a motion to its existing covenant with the armed forces.
A motion was put forward to the full Council meeting by Councillors John Cooke and Ryan Houghton that the authority renew its commitment to the covenant which is based on the premise that those who serve, or have served their country in the armed forces, and their families, deserve respect support and fair treatment.
Elected members approved the motion which will renew the existing covenant signed in November 2018 and which has achieved gold accreditation from the Defence and Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS).
The Lord Provost of Aberdeen, David Cameron, who is Aberdeen Armed Forces champion said: “We are justly proud of our covenant with the Armed Forces community and enshrining of our commitment to treating those who are serving or have served in defending the country with respect and fairness.
“I am pleased that we have been able to further show our appreciation of the contributions and sacrifices members of the armed forces and their families make in keeping us all safe from harm.
The council’s key commitments to the armed forces in the current covenant are:
- Offer up to 1% of new council houses to those leaving the armed forces and adapt up to a further 0.5% to those injured in service;
- support the employment of veterans an work with the Career Transition Partnership (CTP)to establish a tailored employment pathway for service leavers;
- support the employment of service spouses and partners and provide advice services to support cadet forces to prepare for future employment;
- support our employees who are members of the reserve forces, including by accommodating their training and deployment where possible;
- offer support to our local cadet units either in our local community or in local schools and engage with local schools and communities to promote the role and benefits of cadet forces and reserve armed forces;
- work with other organisations across the city to promote sporting opportunities for the armed forces;
- arrange for colleagues from SAAFA, the armed forces charity to use a council office one day a week to improve access to support for veterans;
- ensure that armed forces personnel are not disadvantaged when it comes to gaining a place at a school for their children;
- to take part in Armed Forces Day.
Councillors also agreed to re-establish an Advisor Working Group, including five councillors to ensure commitments continue to be met and requested that the Chief Officer of Early Intervention and Community Empowerment to report to the relevant committee on what the council is doing in supporting the city’s serving and veteran community.
The council also instructed that due regard be given to the Armed Forces Covenant in policy making and decision making.