South Gloucestershire Council has announced that it is supporting veterans through the agreement of a new action plan, ahead of Armed Forces Day on the 24th June.
Adopted this week, the Armed Forces Covenant Report for 2022/23 has outlined the success of the council’s previous work to support veterans, whilst also establishing a new plan that will work up until 2025. This will be done through 24 actions that the council has committed to, helping to build upon the work that has already been done and proactively delivering against the Armed Forces Covenant Duty.
Some of the actions outlined in the report include:
- Continuing support for the South Gloucestershire Veteran’s Support Service and South West Armed Forces Covenant Partnership
- Relationship building with the armed forces community
- Raising staff awareness of key barriers faced by the armed forces community, the actions that are being taken in order to address them, and raise the expectations of staff in delivering against barriers.
Councillor Alison Evans, South Gloucestershire Council’s armed forces champion and cabinet member for cost of living, equalities, and public health, said:
“South Gloucestershire Council aims to improve outcomes across all aspects of life for the Armed Forces Community and we are extremely proud to work with a wide range of organisations and partners in serving them.
“We fully intend to go beyond minimum compliance with the Covenant Duty – in addition to education, housing, and health, we also treat employment as a key area in which the experiences of the community are proactively assessed and addressed.
“A higher number of veterans have been helped during the last year and they have reported being happier, less anxious and less isolated as a result of the support they received.”
Over the course of the last year, the report from the council shows that 87 veterans have been supported, bringing a 61% increase on the year previous. This has also been matched by significant increase in the face to face and virtual meetings and peer support groups being held, as well as the number of veterans that have been signposted to volunteering opportunities. A diverse range of recipients have additionally received support from the council’s delivery of support through two organisations – Soldiers’, Sailors’ and Airmen’s Families Association and Assistplus.
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