Council backing for Royal British Legion

Manchester City Council has announced that it has ended the process of treating military compensation as income, after working with the Royal British Legion.

This has led to all the requirements of the RBL’s Credit their Service campaign being met, as well as allowing veterans and members of the armed forces community to claim means-tested benefits.

Many areas of the country see councils treating compensation from the Armed Forces as a form of income when it comes to means testing benefits, with this limiting the amount that veterans, service members, and their families are entitled to. Through the Credit their Service campaign, the Royal British Legion has called on councils to end this practice.

Manchester City Council has announced that it has ended the process of treating military compensation as income, after working with the Royal British Legion. This has led to all the requirements of the RBL’s Credit their Service campaign being met, as well as allowing veterans and members of the armed forces community to claim means-tested benefits. Many areas of the country see councils treating compensation from the Armed Forces as a form of income when it comes to means testing benefits, with this limiting the amount that veterans, service members, and their families are entitled to. Through the Credit their Service campaign, the Royal British Legion has called on councils to end this practice. Manchester City Council’s lead member for the Armed Forces, Cllr Tommy Judge, said: “We're grateful to the Royal British Legion for highlighting this injustice and were happy to work with them to remove this final barrier which affects the income of many of our brave Armed Forces personnel. "Manchester is a city which is proud of its support for the Armed Forces and treating them equitably and fairly like the rest of the civilian population is yet another way to show our gratitude for their service and dedication to all of us." According to the Royal British Legion, 150,000 veterans and their families are in receipt of compensation after serving in the armed forces, whilst 80% of local councils in Britain treat this compensation as income. Benefits that are means-tested, and thus impacted by the treatment of compensation as income include Housing Benefit, Council Tax support, Discretionary Housing Payments, and Disabled Facilities Grants. Due to the impact that the practice has, the Royal British Legion believes that it breaks the promise that the UK Government made in 2011 when it pledged the Armed Forces Covenant – stating that those who serve should face no disadvantage in comparison to other citizens. Alongside the local support that is being inhibited, national support is also affected with thousands of pounds wort

Manchester City Council’s lead member for the Armed Forces, Cllr Tommy Judge, said:

“We're grateful to the Royal British Legion for highlighting this injustice and were happy to work with them to remove this final barrier which affects the income of many of our brave Armed Forces personnel.

"Manchester is a city which is proud of its support for the Armed Forces and treating them equitably and fairly like the rest of the civilian population is yet another way to show our gratitude for their service and dedication to all of us."

According to the Royal British Legion, 150,000 veterans and their families are in receipt of compensation after serving in the armed forces, whilst 80% of local councils in Britain treat this compensation as income.

Benefits that are means-tested, and thus impacted by the treatment of compensation as income include Housing Benefit, Council Tax support, Discretionary Housing Payments, and Disabled Facilities Grants. Due to the impact that the practice has, the Royal British Legion believes that it breaks the promise that the UK Government made in 2011 when it pledged the Armed Forces Covenant – stating that those who serve should face no disadvantage in comparison to other citizens.

Alongside the local support that is being inhibited, national support is also affected with thousands of pounds worth of Pension Credit being missed by the one million veterans over the age of 65 at the time of the 2021 census.

Image credit: iStock

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