A new £370,000 programme has been launched to improve understanding of the Armed Forces Covenant and upcoming legal changes affecting service personnel and their families.
The funding has been awarded to Army Families Federation on behalf of the tri-service families federations, including the Naval Families Federation and RAF Families Federation.
Backed by the Ministry of Defence through the Armed Forces Families Fund, the two-year Covenant Awareness Programme will focus on helping families better understand the support available and how forthcoming legislation could affect them.
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The initiative aims to increase awareness of the Armed Forces Covenant, improve access to support services, and explain the impact of the planned extension of the Covenant’s Legal Duty under the Armed Forces Bill.
The extension would require central government departments, devolved administrations and local public bodies to consider the needs of the Armed Forces community when making decisions across a wide range of policy areas, including housing, healthcare, education, employment and taxation.
Programme organisers said the changes are intended to place the Armed Forces community more firmly at the centre of public policy and decision-making, while ensuring service personnel, veterans and their families are not disadvantaged due to service life.
The Armed Forces Covenant, first introduced in 2011, sets out the principle that those who serve or have served should be treated fairly, with additional support provided where needed. The proposed legal extension is expected to strengthen how that commitment is applied in practice.
