Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what guidance they have given to local authorities regarding the training required to ensure that local authority staff properly implement the policies of the <i>Armed forces covenant for communities</i>.

The conclusions and recommendations of the report “Our Community – Our Covenant” are available at the following address http://www.fim-trust.org/ reports/ and include practical guidance, a tool kit and a self-assessment section, which have been commended to Local Authorities across the UK.

A cross-Government Action Plan is currently being drafted to promote and assess progress. This is being supported by Covenant Funding available to Local Authorities who wish to adopt new processes or initiatives in support of the Covenant. This includes building on existing good practice; in Warwickshire, for example, an IT training package on the Covenant and how it applies to that community is in the process of being launched.