Recommendations & Conclusions
13 items
1
Conclusion
4th Report – The Armed Forces Covenant
Accepted
The timetable presented to us by the Secretary of State for producing a report meant there were fewer opportunities to take oral evidence on this subject than we would have preferred. (Conclusion, Paragraph 5)
Government response. The government agrees with the committee's observation regarding the limited timeframe for the report and commits to annual engagement between the Minister for Veterans and People and the Committee, as well as appointing a committee to consider the Armed Forces …
Ministry of Defence
2
Recommendation
4th Report – The Armed Forces Covenant
Accepted
Assuming precedent is followed, a Select Committee will be appointed to consider the Armed Forces Bill, with the opportunity to hear oral evidence before considering the Bill line by line. We recommend that the Government allow time for that Committee to hear from a broad range of organisations with an …
Government response. The MOD commits to the established practice of appointing a Committee for the Armed Forces Bill 2026, which will take evidence from interested stakeholders, allowing time for broad engagement.
Ministry of Defence
3
Conclusion
4th Report – The Armed Forces Covenant
Accepted
The evidence we received shows that where the Covenant is working well it is improving outcomes for service personnel, their families and veterans and is removing some of the disadvantages people face as a result of military service. However, this was not the experience of everyone who responded to our …
Government response. The MOD agrees there are inconsistencies and will provide training materials, webinar sessions, downloadable resources, and updated statutory guidance to help organisations comply and ensure consistent application of the Covenant.
Ministry of Defence
4
Conclusion
4th Report – The Armed Forces Covenant
Accepted
Implementation of the Covenant Legal Duty varies considerably across the UK. In some places the Legal Duty has resulted in the creation of new policies and initiatives that have tangibly improved the lives of the forces community; in others the Duty appears to have changed very little. As a result, …
Government response. The MOD acknowledges varied implementation and plans to provide training materials, webinars, resources, and updated statutory guidance to help organisations ensure consistent application and compliance with the Covenant.
Ministry of Defence
5
Recommendation
4th Report – The Armed Forces Covenant
Accepted
Alongside its plans to legislate for an expanded Covenant Legal Duty, the Government should develop a strategy for making sure the Covenant is fully and consistently applied and recognised by signatories and by those subject to the Legal Duty across the UK, including in the Devolved Administrations. Actions as part …
Government response. The MOD accepts the recommendation and will provide training materials, webinar sessions, downloadable resources, and updated statutory guidance to ensure consistent application of the Covenant across the UK.
Ministry of Defence
6
Conclusion
4th Report – The Armed Forces Covenant
Accepted
We welcome the proposal to extend the Covenant Legal Duty to areas of central government. If this duty is properly implemented, we would expect to see Whitehall departments taking the needs of the forces community into account during policy development, so that the forces community are not unintentionally disadvantaged by …
Government response. The MOD agrees with the conclusion and is developing plans to extend the Covenant Duty to all UK Government Departments and Devolved Governments, supported by training materials, webinars, and resources.
Ministry of Defence
7
Recommendation
4th Report – The Armed Forces Covenant
Accepted
The Government should extend the application of the Armed Forces Covenant so that all Government departments and the devolved administrations are required to give due regard to the principles of the Armed Forces Covenant. As the current duty of ‘due regard’ is inconsistently interpreted, the extended duty must be accompanied …
Government response. The MOD accepts the recommendation and is developing plans to extend the Covenant Duty to all UK Government Departments and Devolved Governments, supported by training materials, webinars, and resources to ensure clear understanding and compliance.
Ministry of Defence
8
Conclusion
4th Report – The Armed Forces Covenant
Accepted
The Government is right to recognise that the existing Covenant Duty does not reach into many areas of life in which the service community faces disadvantage, and to consider expanding the scope of the Covenant Legal Duty. As noted in the previous chapter, extending the Legal Duty will only achieve …
Government response. The MOD acknowledges the need for co-design and appropriate resourcing, detailing an extensive engagement programme and co-developing a new burdens assessment with MHCLG and LGA, alongside providing training materials and resources.
Ministry of Defence
9
Recommendation
4th Report – The Armed Forces Covenant
Accepted
The Covenant Legal Duty should be expanded to cover the breadth of areas in which members of the Armed Forces community regularly experience disadvantage. The Government should work closely with local authorities and other bodies who might be required to deliver an expanded Covenant 27 Duty to co-design a Duty …
Government response. The MOD acknowledges the recommendation to expand the Covenant Legal Duty, detailing an extensive engagement program, co-developing a new burdens assessment with MHCLG and LGA to address resource constraints, and providing training materials and resources.
Ministry of Defence
10
Conclusion
4th Report – The Armed Forces Covenant
Acknowledged
The evidence available to help us understand how well the Covenant is working is currently very fragmented. This makes recognising success, learning lessons and holding organisations to account difficult. The Minister told us there were ‘plans afoot’ to create structures that can improve Government’s understanding of how well the Covenant …
Government response. The MOD acknowledges fragmented data and the importance of improving data collection and governance, describing ongoing stakeholder engagement, roundtables, and a planned annual conference in July 2025 to facilitate knowledge sharing.
Ministry of Defence
11
Recommendation
4th Report – The Armed Forces Covenant
Accepted
The Government should provide the Committee with an update, in its response to this Report and when it gives evidence to the Committee on the Covenant Annual Report in the future, on the work it is doing to improve data collection and sharing of how the Covenant is being delivered. …
Government response. The MOD accepts the recommendation and provides an update on current data collection via annual reports and online feedback. They recognise the need for improved data and commit to ongoing engagement, roundtables, and a July 2025 conference to encourage knowledge …
Ministry of Defence
12
Conclusion
4th Report – The Armed Forces Covenant
Acknowledged
To enable proper scrutiny of cross-government efforts to implement the Covenant, Whitehall departments should provide an annual update on actions they have taken to uphold the Covenant as part of the Covenant Annual Report, along with outcomes. Departments should–when requested to do so by the Committee–make themselves available to give …
Government response. The government will engage with other departments to consider how they can best report on their Covenant obligations and the MOD will commit to providing evidence, while the Minister will continue to encourage other departments to do the same.
Ministry of Defence
13
Conclusion
4th Report – The Armed Forces Covenant
Accepted
The Armed Forces Covenant is a solemn commitment by our whole society to recognise the courage and dedication of our Armed Forces. While progress has been made since the Covenant was introduced, it is still not consistently implemented and as a result our society is falling short of that commitment …
Government response. The government agrees with the conclusion, highlighting existing positive impacts of the Covenant, including enshrining it into law, and states it will continue to explore ways to enhance support for the Armed Forces community.
Ministry of Defence