This Council:
Proposer:
Cllr Matthew Dorrance
Seconder: Cllr David Meredith
S151 Officer Comments on Resource Requirement: The motion requests an action to call on government to do more and share the responsibility, which could be done by writing and expressing views about national governments’ commitment to support this – which is financially minimal in terms of ongoing cost, although there may need to be officer time to help prepare the letter, which is likely to be feasible if it is planned into their diary There are wider implications of this covenant and act, and we may already undertake or may have to provide additional support from education, housing and social care committing to specific improvements / changes that support the veterans - the full nature of what we already provide and what may be required in future has not been investigated at this stage.
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Minutes:
County Councillors A Jenner, C Mills, D Price, G Ratcliffe, I McIntosh, S Davies, J Jones, G Pugh, P Davies, A Jones, K Roberts-Jones, R Harris and J Pugh declared an interest in this item.
Council debated the following notice of motion moved by County Councillor Matthew Dorrance and seconded by County Councillor David Meredith:
This Council:
The proposer of the motion, County Councillor Matthew Dorrance, noted that the Act placed responsibilities on local authorities but not on government. He welcomed the prominence given to the Armed Forces Covenant given by the Leader taking the role of Armed Forces Champion. He noted that since the motion had been submitted Commonwealth and Gurkha personnel no longer had to pay for visa fees but that their dependents still did. The seconder of the motion, County Councillor David Meredith spoke about the great benefits that the Gurkhas and the Nepalis community had brought to Brecon. Other members spoke in support of the motion. It was noted that Fay Jones MP for Brecon and Radnorshire had been instrumental in the establishment of a Veterans’ Commissioner for Wales with Colonel James Phillips appointed to that role on 1st March.
RESOLVED
That this Council:
· Stands firmly behind our UK Armed Forces and fully supports the aims of the Armed Forces Covenant.
· Welcomes the new Armed Forces Act but sees the legislation as a missed opportunity to improve the lives of veterans in Powys.
· Notes with disappointment that the Act, which makes Powys County Council and local public bodies legally bound to have “due regard” to the Covenant when providing support to Forces communities, exempts central government from any such duty, creating a two-tier Covenant for veterans.
· Notes with further disappointment that Conservative MPs voted down Labour-led proposals, backed by the Royal British Legion and ex-Service chiefs, to enshrine the Covenant fully into law and improve Armed Forces accommodation, employment support and pensions and to end the scandal of visa fees for Commonwealth and Gurkha personnel.
· Resolves to continue campaigning with Forces charities to get the UK Government to strengthen the Covenant and improve vital services to veterans.