13 Jan 2021 : Labour’s Cllr Marina Asvachin (Wonford and St Loyes) motion has received the backing of the Cabinet at Devon County Council (DCC)  . The motion supports Commonwealth veterans, and their right to remain in the UK upon leaving the armed forces

supporting Commonwealth veterans, and their right to remain in the UK upon leaving the armed forces. Labour’s Cllr Marina Asvachin (Wonford and St Loyes) tabled the motion and the meeting 13^th January voted unanimously to refer it to full Council.

The motion calls upon Council to make its armed forces’ champions and lead officers aware of the problems faced by Commonwealth veterans. If passed it would see Council Leader John Hart write to the Prime Minister, Kevin Forster the Minister of State for Immigration, and Johnny Mercer the Minister of State for Veterans Affairs, and to all Devon MPs urging them to put pressure on the Government to change legislation.

“DCC holds the duty for the Armed Forces Covenant (AFC) as the principle local authority,” says Cllr Asvachin. “My motion seeks to fully recognise the sacrifice and challenges Commonwealth nationals and their families have made to serve this county with honour and dignity. They should be treated equally and fairly for their sacrifice.”

The AFC is a promise by the nation that all who have served in the armed forces are treated fairly, particularly in specific aspects of healthcare, education, and housing. It covers serving personnel, veterans, and their families from across all Military Services. Devon has been involved through Forces Connect South West in responding to a Government consultation, but protections fall short for Commonwealth veterans.

Devon has a proud history of supporting the armed forces, with its HMNB Devonport naval base in Plymouth the biggest in western Europe, and with its Royal Marines commando training centre at Lympstone. Cllr Asvachin says the motion “seeks to cement that relationship.”

A serving member of the armed forces in Devon commented, “After years of questionable treatment of commonwealth veterans its fantastic to see our local councillors leading the fight and winning the long overdue battle for the basic rights of our Commonwealth brothers and sisters in arms and their families”.

If passed by full Council at its 20 February meeting, Devon will commit to officially welcoming legislation and acting upon its requirements promptly.

https://www.forcesconnectsouthwest.org.uk

Cabinet backed Cllr Asvachin’s motion and RESOLVED that Council;
(a) notes the work to date of Officers and the Council’s Armed Forces Covenant (AFC) Lead Member in terms of their involvement in and contribution to the Consultation about the forthcoming legislation to enshrine the Armed Forces Covenant in Law and that Officers and the Council’s AFC lead Member continue to work with “Forces Connect South West” (consortium of SW Councils) on matters concerning AFC including Commonwealth Veterans;
(b) welcomes this impending legislation and will act upon its requirements as soon as has become enshrined in law;
(c) recognises the situation regarding Commonwealth Veterans and therefore asks the Leader to write to Kevin Foster MP (Minister for Immigration) and Johnny Mercer MP (Minister of State for Veteran Affairs) asking that Commonwealth members of the Armed Forces be given adequate guidance on the steps required to obtain legal immigration status in Britain ahead of leaving their Service, in particular,
(i) that a longer period for application for leave to stay (12 – 18 months rather than currently the case where this must happen before or immediately upon leaving service);
(ii) during this period, they have the same rights that they had when in Service e.g. register with GP and find work;
(iii) apply for assistance from Local Authorities. (i.e. Housing); and
(iv) that the process of immigration in these cases is sped up with fair and affordable administrative charges.
(d) continues to implement and apply policies that support former Armed Forces personnel and reservists as well as understanding the issues that veterans, reservist and their family members face and continue to work towards ‘Gold’ status in the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme, with improving the provisions of career based and personal support even more; and
(e) ask the Corporate Infrastructure and Regulatory Services Scrutiny Committee to consider the issues in more depth, building on its previous task group work relating to the Armed Forces Covenant.

 Cllr Asvachin’s original motion for Labour :

We call upon the council to make their armed forces champions and lead officers aware of the difficulties experienced by commonwealth veterans and ensure that those who are currently experiencing problems, whether financial or immigration difficulties, are not disadvantaged whilst their applications are ongoing.
We also call upon the leader of the council to write to the Prime Minister, Kevin Forster the Minister of State for Immigration, and Johnny Mercer the Minister of State for Veterans Affairs, outlining this Councils support for all Commonwealth veterans who have served a minimum of 4 years being granted automatic and free of charge right to remain in the UK and that any veteran who completes 12 years of service to be automatically given British Citizenship.
Further, we call upon the Leader of the Council to write to our Devon MPs, on behalf of this council, to ask that they continue to press the government for a change in the legislation that affects those that have served diligently and honourably for this Country”

Briefing Note / Position Statement from the Head of Communities
Devon County Council holds the Duty for the Armed Forces Covenant (AFC) as the principle Local Authority. (The Armed Forces Covenant is a promise by the nation ensuring that those who serve or who have served in the armed forces, and their families, are treated fairly). The Covenant has three main principles which are:

♦ There must be regard to the unique obligations of, and sacrifices made by, the Armed Forces;

♦ That those who serve or have served in the UK Armed Forces and their families should not be disadvantaged by their Service; and

♦ That special provision for service people may be justified by the effects on such people of membership, or former membership, of the armed forces

The Armed Forces Covenant covers serving personnel, veterans and their families from across all Military Services and as such does not have any specific requirements explicit within it for Commonwealth veterans.
The Council facilitates a multi-agency (Civilian/Military) partnership of signatories to the Devon and Torbay Armed Forces Community Covenant and coordinates a group of Armed Forces Champions from across the Devon Districts. The District Councils play an important role in the delivery of the AFC not least with regards to housing and benefits.

The Council is also jointly commissioned, with Cornwall Council a Veterans Joint Strategic Needs Assessment https://www.cornwall.gov.uk/media/43017381/jsna-armed-forces-veteran-summary-2019.pdf
The Council has been working in Partnership with other South West Councils for some time now through a Consortium called Forces Connect South West. This not only gives the South West a powerful voice Nationally with regards to all Armed Forces Matters, but it is also striving to ensure that Armed Forces Families and Veterans get an equitable offer no matter where in the South West they are. The Devon Forces Family Website, which was recognised Nationally as an exemplar model has been developed to become Forces Connect South West https://www.forcesconnectsouthwest.org.uk/. Through this partnership we have been involved in response to Government consultation regards the pending legislation to further enshrine the Armed Forces Covenant in Law.
The Government’s goal for this legislation is to ensure that the Covenant is an enduring part of life. While there’s been amazing progress in delivery of the Covenant, there’s no guarantee that the current resources devoted to Covenant issues will continue. By giving it a legislative footing, they are looking to future-proof it. Proposals for the legislation which is due to start process through Parliament December 2020/January 2021
It will be a duty of due regard which means that in making decisions and in day to day activities a body subject to the duty must consciously consider the Covenant.
o It will not legislate outcomes – it’s about being able to demonstrate that due regard has been taken.

The Covenant is made up of 3 principles. There can sometimes be confusion around this, as the first 2 principles are often considered collectively as if they are one principle. The legislation will cover these first 2 principles which are:
♦ there must be regard to the unique obligations of, and sacrifices made by, the Armed Forces and
♦ that those who serve or have served in the UK Armed Forces and their families should not be disadvantaged by their Service.

They are exploring the potential for including the third principle too. This hasn’t been confirmed yet, but the legislation team will ensure the focus groups (Forces Connect South West being one of these) are kept updated about this. The third principle is:
♦ that special provision for service people may be justified by the effects on such people of membership, or former membership, of the armed forces
o The duty will apply to local and regional public bodies and those working at a national level – such as NHS England – which have policy and delivery responsibilities at the local and regional level.
o It’ll also apply to private sector bodies when they’re exercising public functions.
o The duty will focus on specific aspects of healthcare, education and housing. As these areas are found to be key areas where disadvantage exists and where legislation would make the most difference. They’re fundamental to having high quality family life. These are the same policy areas which are included in the existing legislation (Secretary of State’s duty to lay an annual Covenant report in parliament).
o It will encourage the use of existing complaints processes, such as the relevant ombudsmen when appropriate, but as a last resort, complainants should use Judicial Review.

Why has this approach been chosen: For LAs currently delivering the Covenant to a high standard, this will not change what they’re doing. It will encourage them to continuing doing the great work they’re already doing. The intention is to future-proof the Covenant and improve consistency in quality of delivery across the country.

As an employer, Devon County Council has facilitated an Armed Forces support Network for staff who are veterans, reservists or close family members of those who are serving. Being one of only a very few Local Authorities to have done this, it has been seen as a model of good practice. We have shared this model with the National County Councils Network of Locality Officers and other LA’s are now replicating.
This along with the fact that we do have an HR policy for Reservists helped us to achieve the Employers Recognition Silver Award in the Autumn of 2020.

The Employer Recognition Scheme recognises organisations who pledge, demonstrate and advocate their support for the Defence community. There are three tiers of award – Bronze, Silver and Gold – for employers who advocate support to the Armed Forces Community in alignment with the Armed Forces Covenant.
Silver Awards holders demonstrate support for Defence, employing at least one Reservist, actively communicating and upholding a positive stance to their employees via established HR policies and procedures. Silver Award holders support Reservists by showing flexibility to plan for and allow them to fulfil their annual training and mobilisation commitments.

Minutes: https://democracy.devon.gov.uk/documents/g4246/Printed%20minutes%2013th-Jan-2021%2010.30%20Cabinet.pdf?T=1

Officers’ briefings https://democracy.devon.gov.uk/mgConvert2PDF.aspx?ID=34169