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| | [eighth and Ninth Sittings]
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| | Clause 2, page 2, leave out lines 11 and 12 and insert— |
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| | | | ‘The armed forces covenant report shall cover the following fields as they apply |
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| | | (e) | pensions and benefits; |
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| | | (f) | employment and training; |
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| | | (g) | support for reservists and their employers; |
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| | | (h) | the running of the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme; |
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| | | (i) | progress on armed forces rehabilitation services; and |
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| | | (j) | other such fields as the External Reference Group may determine.’. |
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| | Clause 2, page 2, line 12, at end insert— |
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| | | ‘(2A) | The armed forces covenant report must also include analysis of the effects of |
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| | | membership, or former membership, of the reserve forces in such fields as the |
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| | | Secretary of State may determine.’. |
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| | Clause 2, page 2, line 42, leave out ‘Secretary of State’ and insert ‘External |
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| | Clause 2, page 2, line 44, at end add— |
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| | | ‘(7) | In this section “External Reference Group” shall mean an independently chaired |
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| | | body of interested parties, appointed by the Cabinet Office, who represent the |
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| | | armed forces, families, veterans and reservists community, to monitor progress |
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| | | and hold departments to account in the delivery of government obligations arising |
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| | | from the Armed Forces Covenant. The External Reference Group will continue |
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| | | to produce a publicly available Annual Report on the Military Covenant.’. |
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| | Clause 2, page 2, line 44, at end add— |
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| | | ‘(7) | The Secretary of State must by Order through Statutory Instrument establish a |
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| | | written Military Covenant (henceforth referred to as “the Covenant”) which sets |
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| | | out the definition of the word “covenant”, used in Clause 2, line 6 of the Armed |
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| | | Forces Bill. The definition would set out the principles against which the annual |
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| | | armed forces covenant report would be judged. No Order establishing the |
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| | | definition of the term “covenant” shall be made unless a draft of the Order, |
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| | | prepared after public consultation, has been laid before and approved by a |
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| | | resolution of both Houses of Parliament. An Order to review the definition of the |
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| | | term “covenant” would be made every five years and would not be passed unless |
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| | | a draft of the Order, prepared after public consultation, has been laid before and |
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| | | approved by a resolution of both Houses of Parliament. |
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| | | (8) | In this section “public bodies” means— |
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| | | (a) | United Kingdom government departments; |
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| | | (b) | local authorities; and |
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| | | (c) | National Health Service trusts.’. |
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| | Clause 2, page 2, line 44, at end add— |
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| | | ‘(7) | The existing network of Armed Forces Advocates will be extended through the |
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| | | nomination of supporting advocates at regional and local level to ensure that local |
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| | | authorities work together to identify and resolve issues in local policy or the |
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| | | delivery of services that may affect service people. |
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| | | (8) | In this section “Armed Forces Advocate” means a civil servant nominated to |
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| | | resolve policy or legislative issues that may affect service people.’. |
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| | Clause 2, page 2, line 44, at end add— |
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| | | ‘(7) | The Parliamentary and Local Government Ombudsman shall have the duty to |
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| | | investigate complaints from service personnel that a public body or local |
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| | | authority has failed to meet the commitments outlined in the Covenant.’. |
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| | | Clauses 3 to 23 Agreed to. |
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