The Covenant in depth
Unique obligations and sacrifices of Service
The Covenant recognises that Service in the Armed Forces involves unique obligations and sacrifices. These are the necessary disparities compared to the general population that enable the Armed Forces to function effectively. They are not breaches of the nation’s moral obligation, and not Covenant disadvantages. They include:
- Danger
- Geographical mobility
- Separation from family
- Service law and rights
- Unfamiliarity with civilian life
- Hours of work
- Stress
Covenant disadvantage
The first principle of the Covenant is: Those who serve in the Armed Forces, whether Regular or Reserve, those who have served in the past, and their families, should face no disadvantage compared to other citizens in the provision of public and commercial services.
Covenant disadvantage is disparity relative to others in comparable circumstances in the UK civilian general population, arising from Service (not including those that are the ‘unique obligations and sacrifices’ of Service).
Examples of Covenant disadvantage
Expand the following boxes to see examples based on real events.
Covenant disadvantage could arise if:
Example 1: The Army re-locates a Service family. They have to cancel their broadband package at their current home, incurring cancellation fees. Therefore, they incur higher broadband costs than is normal for the general population. To remove this disadvantage, the broadband provider waives their cancellation fee. See Financial services for more information about this disadvantage.
Example 2: The RAF posts abroad one of its personnel, who rents out his home. His mortgage provider charges him the standard Consent to Let fee it charges anyone with a residential mortgage renting out their home. Therefore, he incurs higher mortgage costs than similar people in the general population, as they aren’t required to rent out their home by their employer. To remove this disadvantage, the mortgage provider waives his Consent to Let fee. See Housing for more information about this disadvantage.
Example 3: The ex-partner of a Royal Marine moves back to her home area. There, she is ineligible for social housing. This is due to the time she lived with her ex-partner elsewhere in the country while he was posted there. To remove this disadvantage, the local authority disapplies their local connection requirements in her case. She then has the same chance of meeting the eligibility criteria as the rest of the local population. See Housing for more information about this disadvantage.
Example 4: NHS funds remaining orthodontic treatment for Service child returning to UK
Example 5: Armed Forces Outreach Service helps overseas Service person access social housing in UK
Example 6: Farah lost both arms while serving in the Army 20 years ago, and needs to have a blood sample taken. However, the nurses are only trained to take blood from arms, so cannot take a blood sample. To remove this disadvantage, the nurses could undertake training to take blood samples from elsewhere on the body.
Example 7: School in South Cerney sets up after-school club on military base
Example 8: In state-funded schools in England, the proportion of Service children attending a school rated Outstanding by Ofsted has historically been slightly lower than the proportion of non-Service, non-Free School Meal children. This is because Service children move schools more often, on average, than non-Service children.
Example 9: The Army re-locates a Service family to a new area. The child’s new school uses different GCSE exam boards with different syllabuses to his previous school. This means he has fewer lessons to prepare for his GCSEs than his peers. To remove this disadvantage, the Service child could be provided with extra tuition, until he has caught-up. Alternatively, his new school could arrange for him to sit the exams set by his previous exam boards. Or, he could be placed in a school that uses the same exam boards as his previous school.
Example 10: Transport challenges resolved for siblings placed in different schools
Example 11: Amy is married to a soldier. She’s on a hospital waiting list with an 8-month waiting time. After waiting 4 months, the Army re-locates them. Amy’s treatment transfers to a hospital at their new location. This hospital places Amy at the back of its own 8-month waiting list, as this is what it does for all its new patients. Amy therefore waits longer for treatment than the general population. To remove this disadvantage, the new hospital tries to move her up their waiting list, to take into account her time already waited. See Healthcare for more information.
Example 12: The RAF re-locates a Service family to a new area. Healthcare professionals in the new location decide to conduct a reassessment of a family member’s condition, and ‘go back to square one’. This results in additional treatment delays, compared to the general population.
Example 13: The Navy re-locates a Service family elsewhere in the country. A family member in the middle of a course of medical treatment loses access to healthcare professionals with whom they have an established relationship, and who have experience of treating them and understand their individual healthcare needs.
Example 14: A Service family has a disabled child. Their local authority provides the child with a specialised bed. The Armed Forces re-locates the family, and the bed returns to the local authority. They apply for a similar bed from their new local authority. The child loses access to a specialised bed while they wait to be assessed, and the bed ordered.
Myth-busting about disadvantage
Yes, it can still be a Covenant disadvantage. Disadvantages often arise because the Armed Forces community do not take part in civilian life in the same way as everyone else, or because they have unique needs. Treating them the same as everyone else is therefore actually part of the problem. For example, requiring all users of your service to have a UK address may disadvantage members of the Armed Forces Community deployed abroad. Removing disadvantage sometimes means treating the Armed Forces community differently, so they can achieve the same outcome as everyone else.
Yes, it can still be a Covenant disadvantage. The Armed Forces community do not need to have a unique experience to be disadvantaged. For example, if the Armed Forces relocate a Service family, and the child moves school, interrupting their education, this is a recognised Covenant disadvantage, even though other children in the general population also occasionally move school due to their parents’ work.
However, if moving between schools became a common experience for school children in the civilian population, it would no longer be a disadvantage for Service children specifically. A degree of judgement is often required to decide if the Armed Forces’ experience has become common, so that they are no longer at a disadvantage compared to the civilian population.
No, not every bad experience for the Armed Forces community is a Covenant disadvantage. To qualify as a Covenant disadvantage, it must meet certain criteria (outlined above). The Covenant’s purpose is not to eliminate all bad experiences for the Armed Forces community, but to minimise disadvantages arising from their Service, achieving parity with the general population where possible.
Those in the Armed Forces Community sometimes benefit from more favourable rules than the general population. If their circumstances change, or the rules change, they might revert to the normal standard for the general population. This is not a Covenant disadvantage.
This does not count as a Covenant disadvantage. Covenant disadvantage is always about comparing the Armed Forces community with the general population. It is never about comparing different groups in the Armed Forces Community with each other. The Covenant is not about providing the same experience to all members of the Armed Forces community.
The Service ‘offer’ changes regularly, for many reasons. Most changes affect different cohorts of the Armed Forces community in different ways. Many changes to the ‘offer’ have no connection to the Covenant, as they change aspects of Service with no comparator in the general population. Many other changes leave the ‘offer’ still better than what is provided in civilian life, so do not amount to a Covenant disadvantage.
In everyday speech, frequently relocating, exposure to danger, separation from family, and other related issues, might be seen as examples of disadvantage arising from Service. However, the Covenant sees these as the ‘unique obligations and sacrifices of Service’. That is, they are necessary disparities compared to the general population, that enable the Armed Forces to function effectively.
Special provision
The second principle of the Covenant is: Special consideration is appropriate in some cases, especially for those who have given most such as the injured and the bereaved. Note that the terms ‘special provision’ and ‘special consideration’ are used interchangeably and mean the same thing.
Covenant special provision is more favourable provision than for others in comparable circumstances in the UK civilian general population. The Covenant recognises that special provision is usually for those sacrificing the most, such as those bereaved or injured by Service (whether that injury is physical or mental).
Examples of special provision
Expand the following boxes to see examples based on real events.
Special provision could be implemented if:
Example 1: The Armed Forces Bereavement Scholarship Scheme was established in 2011. It gives the children of Service personnel whose death is attributable to Service since 1990 a head start in life by enabling them to progress in their post-16 education. For more information, see Covenant support for the Bereaved.
Example 2: The estate of a deceased Service person or veteran may be eligible for an Inheritance Tax exemption. This is if the cause of death is found to be Service attributable. For more information, see Covenant support for the Bereaved.
Example 3: The NHS’s Integrated Personal Commissioning for Veterans Framework (IPC4V) is a personalised care approach for a very small number of veterans with complex and enduring physical, neurological and mental health conditions resulting from injury whilst in Service. The bespoke care they receive ensures they are effectively supported as they transition to civilian life and beyond.
Example 4: A local authority builds some new council houses. They are fully wheelchair-accessible units, reserved for use by injured veterans.
Example 5: Statutory guidance sets out how local authorities in England can ensure that members of the Armed Forces community suffering from mental ill health (wholly or partly attributable to Service) are given appropriate priority for social housing. For more information, see Housing.
Example 6: NHS England operates a Veterans’ Prosthetics Panel. This is for funding high-quality prosthetic limbs for veterans who lost a limb during or as a result of military service.
Example 7: There is an NHS commitment that veterans in Great Britain may be considered for priority access to NHS services providing focused treatment for conditions arising from their Service, compared to non-Service patients with the same level of clinical need. For more information, see Healthcare.
Example 8: The Royal British Legion has administered the Veterans Hearing Fund on behalf of HM Treasury since 2015. It ensures that those whose hearing loss was acquired during their service were able to receive hearing devices, peripherals and therapies that are not available through the NHS. For more information, see Healthcare.
Myth-busting about special provision
No, this does not count as Covenant special provision. The Covenant does not expect the whole Armed Forces community to receive more advantageous treatment than the general population. Bodies are of course free to implement such schemes as part of their support to the Armed Forces community. However, such schemes should not be regarded as implementations of the Covenant. The Covenant requires consideration of special provision for those sacrificing the most, such as those bereaved or injured by Service.
Support to those sacrificing the most may count as special provision, may count as removing disadvantage, or may fall into neither category. Those sacrificing the most can face disadvantage as much as anyone else in the Armed Forces community.
Offering tailored support to the Armed Forces is sometimes a way to remove disadvantage, sometimes a way to implement special provision, and sometimes neither.
The Covenant is not…
The Covenant is about how organisations can treat the Armed Forces Community fairly, compared to other people in the wider population. It is not about guaranteeing they are looked after for life, and it does not create any entitlement to a particular minimum level of support.
The Covenant is not a package of benefits, entitlements or compensations.
Rather, it is a promise with two enduring principles about how the Armed Forces community can be treated fairly, which are implemented every day in many different ways and to varying degrees by thousands of organisations across the UK, and across the public, private and third sectors.
To find out about the package of benefits available to those working in Defence and their families, please instead visit Discover My Benefits.
The Covenant is not about getting preferential or advantageous treatment as a matter of course.
It does not give any individual any automatic right to the best house, best school, to jump a queue, or to receive discounts.
Some organisations may decide they can offer special provision to appropriate sub-groups within the Armed Forces community.
Many aspects of Service life are unique to the Armed Forces, with no comparator in the general population. For example, military activity on operations and exercises; Service law; some military accommodation, equipment, and training; and treatment for certain injuries acquired in Service.
This means the Covenant is not relevant to many aspects of Service life. Therefore, it should not be assumed that the cause of every problem is a lack of Covenant implementation. Nor that the solution to every problem is better Covenant implementation.
Much support provided to the Armed Forces community doesn’t count as either removing disadvantage or special provision, as defined above. Therefore, it does not count as “Covenant”, and is not covered on this website.