Armed Forces Community Covenant

Adur & Worthing Councils have made a commitment to support the armed forces community, including all serving and former members, reservists and their families.

This page provides information on:

• Adur & Worthing's Armed Forces Community Covenants
• The purpose of the Covenants
• Support and advice services
• The Armed Forces Community Fund - local grants
• How to become a reservist

Adur & Worthing's Armed Forces Community Covenant

Adur District Council and Worthing Borough Council have been a signatory to the Armed Forces Community Covenant since 2013 and are committed to upholding the key objectives of the Covenant:

• That no member of the Armed Forces Community should face disadvantage in the provision of services compared with any other citizen
• That, in some circumstances, special treatment may be appropriate especially for the injured or bereaved

The Covenants are available below:

• Adur DC - Community Covenant (124KB)
• Worthing BC - Community Covenant (114KB)

Details about the Covenant can be found in the committee report below:

• Joint Strategic Committee 28th February 2013 - Item 09

See also on other external websites:

• West Sussex Armed Forces Community Covenant - on the WSCC website
• Armed Forces Covenant - on the GOV.UK website
• Sussex Armed Forces Network website

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The purpose of the Covenants

The purpose of the Community Covenant is to encourage support for the Armed Forces community that is working and residing in Adur and Worthing and to recognise and remember the sacrifices made by members of the Armed Forces Community, particularly those who have given the most. This includes serving service personnel, veterans, reservists, and the families of all who live or have lived in Adur and Worthing.

The councils have appointed elected members to be Armed Forces Champions who have been asked by the Leaders of the respective councils to support these commitments and as part of this, to engage with and support the work of the broader West Sussex Civilian Military Partnership Board that is overseeing this work at strategic level.

Our Armed Forces Champions are:

• Adur District - Councillor Andy McGregor
• Worthing Borough - Councillor Noel Atkins

Adur & Worthing Councils have developed the following commitments, using the overall Covenant Strategy being led by the West Sussex Civilian Military Partnership Board. The Councils will, through these commitments, seek to uphold the principles of the Armed Forces Covenant and meet the requirements of the national Armed Forces Covenant Duty 2021 by:

• recognising the sacrifices made by the armed forces community
• encouraging support for the armed forces community
• promoting understanding and awareness amongst the public
• encouraging activities to help the community integrate into local life
• supporting veterans and service families in employment with the Councils

Our commitments are set out in the following document:

• Adur & Worthing Armed Forces Community Covenant Commitments (220KB)

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Sources of advice and support

Armed Forces Network information and support

The Armed Forces Network website has information about services and sources of support and advice in Sussex, including information on housing, wellbeing, mental health and employment, see:

• Sussex Pathways - on the Armed Forces Network website

Veterans Gateway and The Forces Connect App

The Veterans' Gateway is a very helpful source of information about local services and sources of support in the south-east, see:

• Find support in your local area - on the Veterans' Gateway website

The Forces Connect app is another source of information and is aimed at serving personnel, veterans and their families, as well as public sector and support organisations. It is available from:

• Google Play - Forces Connect app
• Apple Store - Forces Connect app

Support with transition from the armed forces

Help with transition from the armed forces is available from a variety of sources including the:

• Service Leavers Guide - on the Armed Forces Covenant website

Forces Families Jobs is an employment and training platform for spouses, partners and family members of serving and reserve UK military personnel. Search and apply for jobs with employers who have signed the Armed Forces Covenant and pledged to support the military community. Information about training, career events and insight days are also available. See:

• Forces Families Jobs website

Housing

A general overview of housing information and support is available, see:

• Help with housing for Service leavers - on the Armed Forces Covenant Website

The Joint Service Housing Advice Office (JSHAO) was withdrawn in 2022 and has been replaced by the Defence Transition Services (DTS) team. This is the MOD's tri-service focal point to provide service personnel and their dependants with civilian housing information for those wishing to move to civilian accommodation at any time in their career, and for those during resettlement to assist with the transition to civilian life. See:

• Information and guidance on civilian housing (Civilian housing options - information for service personnel and their dependants) - on the GOV.UK website
• Service Family Accommodation (SFA) - a guide for service families about applying for, maintaining, loss of entitlement/notice to vacate, moving in and out of and living in UK SFA - on the GOV.UK website
• Forces Help to Buy: help to get on the property ladder - on the GOV.UK website
• Help for service leavers, service personnel and families from Defence Transition Services - on the GOV.UK website

Adur & Worthing Councils Housing policy seeks to respond to the needs of service personnel and their families. Details of how to start the process of accessing housing support are found on our website.

Support with school admissions

West Sussex County Council (WSCC) oversees the local school admission process, see:

• School places - on the WSCC website

Funded by Forces Connect South East and produced by Hampshire County Council, the following video guide includes information for the armed forces on:

• the admissions process
• deadline dates
• in-year admissions/mid-year transfers

See:

• A Guide to School Admissions for Service Children in England video - on YouTube

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The Armed Forces Covenant Fund - local grants

Grants are available to support community covenant activities including the provision of local services. For this and other funding opportunities under the Covenant Fund see:

• Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust website
• How to apply for a Covenant Fund grant - on the GOV.UK website

Applications to the fund should be undertaken in consultation with the West Sussex Civilian Military Partnership Board, see:

• Supporting the armed forces community - on the WSCC website

Afghanistan Veterans' Fund:

The Afghanistan Veterans Fund aims to increase capacity in services and initiatives that offer supportive comradeship, engagement and wellbeing efforts for those in the Armed Forces community impacted by events in Afghanistan, and the wider veterans community.

The Office for Veterans' Affairs has asked the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust to run programmes that will award grants to improve wellbeing, resilience and promote good mental health, responding to increased needs in veterans who have served in Afghanistan and other recent conflicts and the wider veterans community.

For more information see:

• The Afghanistan Veterans Fund - on The Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust website

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Becoming a reservist

If you are considering becoming a reservist see:

• Become an armed forces' reservist - on the WSCC website

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