Armed Forces Covenant “falling short” despite legal duty

The Armed Forces Covenant is failing to consistently support personnel, veterans and their families, with legislation alone proving insufficient to ensure fair treatment across the UK, MPs have warned.

In a report released today by the House of Commons Defence Committee, lawmakers call for an overhaul in how the Covenant is implemented, warning that despite being enshrined in law, it too often delivers “a lottery” of support.

“Our Armed Forces dedicate their lives to protecting our nation and make huge personal sacrifices in doing so,” said Tan Dhesi MP, Chair of the Defence Committee. “The Armed Forces Covenant is supposed to support those who have served, but unfortunately… it is inconsistently implemented – delivering value for some, but not others.”

The report, titled “The Armed Forces Covenant”, details how personnel and their families continue to face disadvantages as a direct consequence of their service. Some Service families reported being pushed to the bottom of NHS waiting lists following duty relocations, while others struggled to secure school placements for their children.

The Covenant, a longstanding moral commitment to ensure that no one is disadvantaged due to military service, was given legal backing in 2021 through a statutory duty placed on public bodies to give “due regard” to the unique circumstances of military life. But the Committee found that this Legal Duty is limited in scope and poorly enforced.

The MPs are now calling for the Legal Duty to be expanded to include central government departments and the devolved administrations. “Whitehall departments must take the needs of the Forces community into account during policy development,” the report says, “so that the Forces community are not unintentionally disadvantaged by new policies, as has sometimes been the case in the past.”

While the report notes that the Covenant can and does work in some areas, the successes appear uneven. The Committee found that when local authorities and institutions are well-informed and adequately resourced, the Covenant can “remove disadvantage and improve outcomes”. But it warns that without clearer direction from central government, these benefits are not guaranteed.

“This is a lottery, made worse by the unpredictability and mobility of service life,” said Dhesi. “Each move can send Service families to the bottom of waiting lists for treatment.”

The report recommends that the Government step up efforts to embed awareness and understanding of the Covenant across both public and private sectors. It also stresses the need for proper funding to ensure those responsible for delivering Covenant obligations are equipped to do so.

“Government must provide guidance and direction, so that both the private and public sector have clarity on what their responsibilities to Service personnel and their families are,” Dhesi said. “Personnel, families and veterans must be able to rely on the Covenant wherever they are.”

The report forms part of the Committee’s wider scrutiny of the Government’s pledge to “put the Covenant fully into law” – a manifesto commitment that, MPs say, must now be matched by delivery.