Armed Forces Hub and Covenant

Find support for UK armed forces veterans and their families, including help with finance, healthcare, employment, housing, social care and more.

Visit the Support for veterans and their families Gov.UK website for more information.

The Veterans Advisory and Pensions Committee (VAPC) acts as ombudsman and exists to serve and support ex-service personnel, their widows or widowers and their immediate family members by providing prompt comprehensive support to those in need.

It is not a charity, but an independent non departmental public body, established by Parliament under the War Pensions Act 1921 and Social Security Act 1989.

Members are recruited from the Yorkshire and Humber area and include both service leavers and civilians. Individuals are appointed by, and are responsible to, the Secretary of State for Defence. Limited resource support is provided through the Ministry of Defence but committee members are unpaid volunteers.

The VAPC identifies:

• all serving and ex-serving groups within Yorkshire and Humber
• key stakeholders already ‘bought in’ for example, charities/councils
• key external stakeholders for example, NHS, job centres
• prevailing needs and issues affecting the veteran community.

Having done that it:

• establishes mutually beneficial working relationships with all stakeholders and updates them routinely on veteran’s issues
• raises awareness of veterans needs within the general public
• compiles/co-ordinates information and makes it available to all relevant agencies and bodies

The VAPC wants:

• every veteran in Yorkshire and Humber to know that the VAPC exists and to be aware of the kind of support they can expect recognition for the work it does on behalf of the veteran community
• all agencies to know they can contact the VAPC for advice, assistance and support about the veteran community and more importantly, to do so
• the general public to be widely aware of the VAPC and understand its role.

More information is available from Veterans UK on Gov.UK and VAPC Yorkshire and Humber on Gov.UK

If you would like to be put in touch with your local VAPC please contact:

• from the UK: 0808 191 4218
• from Overseas: 01253 866043
• email: veterans-uk@mod.uk

There is funding available to support projects that fulfil the aims of the Covenant through the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust.

The aim of the North Lincolnshire Armed Forces Covenant is to encourage local communities to support the Armed Forces community in their area. Local people and businesses already support the services community by:

• Fundraising for service charities
• Taking part in military events and celebrations such as Armed Forces Day
• Buying a poppy

Future activities

Future activities could include:

• Creating support networks for families of serving military personnel
• Running youth groups or sports clubs for the children of servicemen or women
• Offering commercial discounts
• Promoting job vacancies in your company to service leavers via the Career Transition Partnership website
• Taking part in The Big Brew Up – SSAFA’s biggest fundraising event of the year

UK War Memorials

UK War Memorials – a one-stop shop for information on all UK war memorials along with where to go for advice and funding.  Discover how you can be at the heart of protecting and conserving local war memorials.

Let us know how you support the Armed Forces Covenant

Let us know what you are doing to support the Armed Forces Covenant by emailing armed.forces@northlincs.gov.uk

Even simple demonstrations of support (such as displaying the Armed Forces Day window sticker in cars and businesses) can have a positive effect. The benefits could be mutual, with local armed forces getting involved in local projects, educational and sporting events.

Volunteering in the Armed Forces Community Hub

Opportunities are available to support your local Armed Forces community by becoming a volunteer in the Armed Forces Community Hub. For more information or to register your interest please contact us at armed.forces@northlincs.gov.uk.

The Armed Forces Hub is able to provide awareness and bespoke training in respect of both the statutory covenant duty and the local approach to supporting the forces community. For further information please contact armed.forces@northlincs.gov.uk or 01724 298252

There are also a number of national training packages to support delivery of the Covenant, specifically designed for front line staff in local government, housing and the NHS. You can find the training using the following links:

• MOD
• Front line staff
• Housing
• NHS