The Armed Forces Covenant

Defence Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 13 Dec 2024 Closed: 3 Sep 2025 Parliament page
This inquiry will examine the Armed Forces Covenant, the UK’s commitment to ensuring that members of the Armed Forces community are supported and treated fairly. The inquiry will explore whether the Covenant is working, examine areas where serving or former personnel and their families continue to face difficulties, and consider … Read more
5 Recommendations
8 Conclusions
1 Report
3 Oral sessions
2 Letters
3 Events
Activity timeline 7 events
8 Jul
2025
Correspondence
16 Jun
2025
Report published
8 Apr
2025
Report published
11 Mar
2025
Oral evidence
25 Feb
2025
Oral evidence
4 Feb
2025
Oral evidence
9 Jan
2025
Correspondence
Oral evidence sessions 3 sessions
11 Mar 2025
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Oral Evidence Session
Alistair Carns DSO OBE MC MP · Ministry of Defence James Greenrod · Ministry of Defence Sarah Houghton · Ministry of Defence Vice Admiral Phillip Hally CB MBE · Ministry of Defence
25 Feb 2025
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Oral Evidence Session; Panel 2
Cllr Gillian Ford · Local Government Association (LGA) Col. James Phillips · Office of the Veterans Commissioner for Wales Councillor Lis Burnett · Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) David Johnstone · Office of the Northern Ireland Veterans Commissioner Kate Davies · Ofcom Lt Cdr (Retd) Susie Hamilton · Office of the Scottish Veterans Commissioner Mike Callaghan · Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA)
4 Feb 2025
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Panel 1; Panel 2
Collette Musgrave · Army Families Federation Lieutenant General Sir Nick Pope KCB CBE · Cobseo Mark Atkinson · The Royal British Legion Rebecca Lovell · Naval Families Federation Vanessa Plumley · RAF Families Federation
Title HC No. Published Items Response
4th Report – The Armed Forces Covenant HC 572 8 Apr 2025 13 Response document linked
Recommendations & Conclusions
13 results
1 Conclusion
4th Report – The Armed Forces Cove…
Secretary of State's timetable restricted opportunities for oral evidence gathering.
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)
Ministry of Defence
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2 Recommendation
4th Report – The Armed Forces Cove…
Allow time for the Select Committee to hear diverse oral evidence on the Armed Forces Bill.
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 … Read more
Ministry of Defence
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3 Conclusion
4th Report – The Armed Forces Cove…
Armed Forces Covenant inconsistently applied, failing many service personnel and veterans.
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 … Read more
Ministry of Defence
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4 Conclusion
4th Report – The Armed Forces Cove…
Inconsistent implementation of the Covenant Legal Duty across the UK.
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 … Read more
Ministry of Defence
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5 Recommendation
4th Report – The Armed Forces Cove…
Develop a strategy for consistent, comprehensive application of the Armed Forces Covenant Legal Duty.
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 … Read more
Ministry of Defence
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6 Conclusion
4th Report – The Armed Forces Cove…
Extension of the Covenant Legal Duty to central government departments welcomed.
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, … Read more
Ministry of Defence
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7 Recommendation
4th Report – The Armed Forces Cove…
Extend Armed Forces Covenant duty to all government departments with clear guidance.
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 … Read more
Ministry of Defence
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8 Conclusion
4th Report – The Armed Forces Cove…
Expansion of Covenant Legal Duty requires co-design and adequate resourcing.
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 … Read more
Ministry of Defence
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9 Recommendation
4th Report – The Armed Forces Cove…
Expand Covenant Legal Duty, co-designing with local authorities for effective, deliverable implementation.
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 … Read more
Ministry of Defence
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10 Conclusion
4th Report – The Armed Forces Cove…
Fragmented evidence hinders understanding of Armed Forces Covenant effectiveness and accountability.
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 … Read more
Ministry of Defence
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11 Recommendation
4th Report – The Armed Forces Cove…
Provide the Committee with updates on improving data collection for Covenant delivery.
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 … Read more
Ministry of Defence
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12 Conclusion
4th Report – The Armed Forces Cove…
Require Whitehall departments to provide annual updates on Covenant implementation and outcomes.
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 … Read more
Ministry of Defence
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13 Conclusion
4th Report – The Armed Forces Cove…
Armed Forces Covenant not consistently implemented, falling short of its commitment.
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 … Read more
Ministry of Defence
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Correspondence 2 letters
8 Jul 2025 Letter dated 30th June from MinVP to the Chair regarding the Covenant Legal Duty.pdf
Parliament page
9 Jan 2025 Letter dated 23rd December from Secretary of State to Chair regarding dispensation to Service Personnel to contribute to inquiry on the Armed Forces Covenant
Parliament page