Covenant with armed forces to become law

Published on Sunday 15 May 2011 15:49

Veterans' campaigners hailed a "major step forward" in help for the armed forces yesterday after David Cameron accepted demands for the military covenant to be enshrined in law.

The principle that those who fight for their country should not be disadvantaged as a result - and can sometimes merit special treatment - is to be written into the Armed Forces Bill, the Prime Minister announced.

Specific benefits in areas such as housing, health and education will not be put on a statutory basis because of fears it could leave the Ministry of Defence "permanently embroiled" in court action.

But the system of entitlements will be debated annually by parliament in what the Defence Secretary, Liam Fox, said should please both military top brass and armed forces charities.

The legislation originally included only an annual review of how the informal agreement was being met - leading to accusations Mr Cameron had broken a pre-election pledge to make it law.

But in what Labour said was a reaction to a looming Commons rebellion, the Prime Minister said: "The high esteem we all have for our armed forces will soon be given the recognition it deserves - as part of the law of the land."

Dr Fox will give details of the move to MPs today, publishing the Tri-Service Covenant - it traditionally applied only to the army - and pledging improvements in a range of areas of concern.

The campaign to force Mr Cameron to meet his commitment was led by the Royal British Legion, which said the "historic breakthrough" would benefit servicemen and their families for generations to come.

"We are particularly pleased that the unique nature of service will now be acknowledged in the bill, together with the principle that no disadvantage should arise from service - real issues for members of the armed forces," he said.

An annual report on government compliance with the covenant will be written by the Defence Secretary with "key stakeholders" and published alongside an independent expert review.

Dr Fox is expected to set out a number of enhanced services for the military, such as doubling the rate of council tax relief to 50 per cent for those serving overseas, a 3 million boost for schools with high numbers of children from forces families, and making it easier for seriously injured service personnel and veterans to access cut-price public transport.

The shadow defence secretary Jim Murphy said: "Only after a strong campaign by the public, the Royal British Legion, MPs and the media have the government given way. They have done the right thing, but for the wrong reasons."