Issue - meetings

Cabinet Member:  Leader

Forward Plan Ref: 2020/004

Contact: Samantha Shepherd, Senior Policy Officer Tel: 07789 088173

Report by Corporate Director for Communities (CA6).

Oxfordshire County Council was the first local authority to sign a local Armed Forces Covenant in 2011; committing, alongside our partners to ensuring members of the Armed Forces community are treated fairly and not disadvantaged in their day-to-day lives. In partnership, we re-signed a refreshed covenant in June 2018 and in 2019, the Council began a programme of work to re-energise the commitments made. This item for Cabinet highlights the main achievements over the period September 2019 to March 2020, including points for a gold award application in the MoD’s Employer Recognition Scheme.

The work supports delivery of the Council’s ‘Thriving Communities’ vision; due to the size and nature of our armed forces in Oxfordshire, the work cuts across the themes of thriving communities, people and economy. The approach seeks to improve how the Council works in partnership on armed forces issues, how it delivers services for our armed forces community and how armed forces friendly Oxfordshire County Council is as an employer.

The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to:

a)                  note the development and progress of actions to strengthen the Oxfordshire Armed Forces Covenant commitments; and

b)                 agree the application in pursuit of a gold award in the national Employer Recognition Scheme.

Recommendations approved.

Cabinet considered a report on the development and progress of actions to strengthen the Oxfordshire Armed Forces Covenant commitments and proposing to agree an application in pursuit of a gold award in the national Employer Recognition Scheme.

The Chairman welcomed the report noting that the Council was the first to sign a local Armed Forces Covenant in 2011.

Robin Rogers, Strategy Manager, gave apologies from Simon Furlong, Corporate Director of Communities, and Samantha Shepherd, Senior Policy Officer, who could not attend today.  He then summarised the report.

He emphasised how important the armed forces has been in Oxfordshire – even before Brize Norton became the RAF’s primary station in the UK.    The County is also home to many pensioners, reservists and others who work in support operations.

The proposal is to apply for a gold award as an employer.  An important goal is to ensure that nobody is disadvantaged because they are a member of the armed forces or because a family member is in the armed forces.  The Council already does much of what it is proposed to commit to in the report.

During discussion Cabinet unanimously supported the proposals making the following points:

·         The report showed a real understanding of the detail and Samantha Shepherd should be complimented in particular.

·         It is important that the business community is aware of the skills that former members of the armed forces can bring to them.

·         The Council needs to ensure that armed forces families are well looked after in terms of schooling and health services.

RESOLVED to:

a)           note the development and progress of actions to strengthen the Oxfordshire Armed Forces Covenant commitments; and

b)           agree the application in pursuit of a gold award in the national Employer Recognition Scheme.