Hambleton District Council is one of five North Yorkshire councils to have won £196,000 from the Ministry of Defence to strengthen the delivery of the Armed Forces Covenant. I welcome this wholeheartedly. It is right and proper that we endorse the Covenant, which outlines the moral obligation between the nation, the government and the armed forces, to remove inequality and look after those that have given the most. It is the very least we can do for the men and women who serve this country so bravely.
To achieve this and working closely with York St John University, a series of armed forces 'understanding military culture & transition' awareness training sessions will take place across all the councils, to include front line staff, practitioners and senior management and elected members. The aim is to ensure that changes to armed forces community related strategy, policy and delivery including “asking the armed forces question” will result in better data provision, understanding and improved social outcomes.
It provides us with an opportunity to thank our armed services for the work they do on our behalf.