Minutes:
The Council had before it a Notice of Motion set out in the agenda papers standing in the names of Mr R C Lunn, Ms C M Stalker, Ms P Agar, Mr P M McDonald, Mr L C R Mallett, Mr P Denham and Mr R Udall.
The motion was moved by Mr R C Lunn and seconded by Ms P Agar who both spoke in favour of it, and Council agreed to deal with it on the day.
The following amendment had been proposed and was accepted as an alteration by the mover and seconder of the motion which therefore became the
substantive motion:
“Mindful of this Council’s commitment to the Armed Services Covenant Partnership, we call upon the Council to make their Armed Forces Champions and lead officers aware of the difficulties experienced by Commonwealth veterans and ensure that those who are currently experiencing problems, whether financial or immigration difficulties, are not disadvantaged whilst their applications are ongoing.
We welcome the Commonwealth Visa Fees Campaign being organised by the British Legion and support the Armed Forces Bill going through Parliament. Through the Armed Forces Partnership there is support for all Commonwealth veterans who have served a minimum of 4 years to be granted the automatic, free of charge right to remain in the UK and that any veteran who completes 12 years of service to be automatically given British Citizenship.
We call upon our Armed Forces Champions to lobby their MPs to ask that they continue to press the government for a change in the legislation that affects those who have served diligently and honourably for this Country.”
In the ensuing debate, the following points were made:
· This motion was concerned with Commonwealth armed forces veterans who had not been properly advised when they left the service. They faced costs of approximately £2k per family member to apply for indefinite leave to remain the UK and did not receive any financial assistance. Approximately 500 veterans per annum were faced with this challenge. This Council was committed to the Armed Forces Covenant and therefore supporting veterans’ rights. The legislation needed to be amended to ensure that veterans were treated fairly
· These veterans had given a lot to the country with consequences for the physical and mental health. There was therefore a morale principle to provide an automatic right to remain in the UK free of charge
· The armed forces relied on the support of Commonwealth citizens serving alongside UK servicemen/women to achieve its targets
· It was important that reference in the motion was made to the British Legion campaign and the Armed Forces Bill. Partnership working with a number of different agencies was key to supporting the rights of veterans. The Armed Forces Champion could play a major role in the lobbying process and enable a speedy response
· The county’s Armed Forces Champions had already worked well together to achieve success particularly in relation to housing policy and mental health support for veterans
· The Cabinet Member with Responsibility for Communities commented that it was important that the British Legion lead on this campaign and the Council was keen to support them. The Armed Forces Covenant partnership with the support of the Armed Forces Champions had been successful in supporting local initiatives. The Armed Forces Champions were the appropriate representatives to lobby MPs because they understood the issues.
RESOLVED “Mindful of this Council’s commitment to the Armed Services Covenant Partnership, we call upon the Council to make their Armed Forces Champions and lead officers aware of the difficulties experienced by Commonwealth veterans and ensure that those who are currently experiencing problems, whether financial or immigration difficulties, are not disadvantaged whilst their applications are ongoing.
We welcome the Commonwealth Visa Fees Campaign being organised by the British Legion and support the Armed Forces Bill going through Parliament. Through the Armed Forces Partnership there is support for all Commonwealth veterans who have served a minimum of 4 years to be granted the automatic, free of charge right to remain in the UK and that any veteran who completes 12 years of service to be automatically given British Citizenship.
We call upon our Armed Forces Champions to lobby their MPs to ask that they continue to press the government for a change in the legislation that affects those who have served diligently and honourably for this Country.”