Agenda item

11.20

The report (SYP8) sets out the partnership working with the military that the county council has been leading on. Building on the success of a number of projects Oxfordshire is one of the pilot areas for the Armed Forces community covenant (SYP8b).

Contact Officer: Claire Moore, Strategic Partnership Manager

Councillor Mitchell, Claire Moore,Chief Executive’s Office and Sarah Wareing Ministry of Defence (MoD) introduced the paper and the Oxfordshire Commitment to the Armed Forces Community Covenant 2011-16.

Councillor Mitchell talked about how the covenant was initiated,  introduced the liaison staff based in County Hall and highlighted  some of the social care, health and education issues many of the 11,000 service personnel face in Oxfordshire. He explained how a champion system has been developed with lead Councillors providing a close link to each base.

Claire Moore highlighted that Oxfordshire was the first county to develop a military covenant and we have been invited to be a key note speaker at the local government conference. It is important that we keep pushing this and getting more pledges of support. She highlighted the six bids that have been put forward to the £30 million fund available from the MoD for projects to support the military.

Sarah Wareing described the work of her team in the military on key issues in the military civilian partnership. There are only 6 counties in the country with a civil and military covenant.

The Committee welcomed the military covenant.

The Committee noted the recommendations put forward in the paper. While there is nothing to resolve at this stage it was AGREED to engage in these issues in future and were interested in the proposal to visit one of the bases and meet with a commander.

Councillor Hallchurch noted that service members were keen to mark Armed Forces Day, and would like the opportunity show their wares and suggested the Oxford Castle for this.

The interest and success of opportunities to talk about experiences by members of the forces was noted and councillors were keen to support more of this in the future. Sarah Wareing agreed that these are always welcomed but hard to arrange although it is hoped to be able to host a future post operation presentation.

While Councillor Brighouse welcomed the work done under the military-civil partnership, she indicated that support for veterans should be included.

The impact of changes to the school funding calculation on schools serving the military was highlighted.

Councillor Skolar asked about health issues that ex service personnel face on leaving the military and suggested as member of HOSC, that this was potentially a future agenda item for that Scrutiny Committee. Sarah Wareing advised that all military personnel are given an assessment on leaving the military and those with mental health issues are provided with six months of support. A great deal of effort was made to ensure that the transition to public health services from the military health service was as smooth as possible.

The recommendation concerning discounts for service personnel and to encourage more businesses to engage in existing schemes and to display this clearly on their premises was welcomed.

The issue of Housing needs for those members of the forces who are leaving was discussed. Sarah Wareing confirmed that she is in contact with relevant strategic housing officers in the District councils and that MoD Joint services representatives have presented to relevant staff across the county about a joined up service for this group across the county.

It was noted that County Council influence in this area is limited in the scope of what it could provide, but that there may be a coordination or scrutiny role.

Sarah Wareing AGREED to provide a written update on the provision of accommodation at Carterton.

It was noted that the six bids to the MoD £30 million fund were from a range of organisations including the voluntary sector and are supported by the Partnership. The British legion were also able to put in bids and were aware of the funds.