Strategy and Action Plan (VCSAP)
2023-2027 (4 Year Term) Veterans’ Champion
Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council
Aim of the Veterans’ Champion
To assist the Chief Executive and Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council (ANBC) to work more closley with the organisations that support ex-Servicemen and women to ensure that Veterans and their families get the support they deserve.
Transforming Services and Support for Veterans
When Service leavers become Veterans they become entitled to a suite of government support to match their needs. Whilst the vast majority of Veterans transition to civilian life with minimal support needs, for others high quality support services must be available to those who need them, including healthcare, housing or employment support. Veterans served the UK and we must ensure the services we provide to them in return are world-class.
Additionally, the Armed Forces Act 2021 includes clauses that will impose a duty of due regard to the Covenant principles on local public bodies when conducting relevant functions in the areas of health, education and housing.
Making Services Work Better for Veterans
Many Veterans will need little support in their civilian life, but wherever Veterans and their
families do need to interact with support services, those services need to be accessible and easy to use. We also need to ensure services collaborate so Veterans experience a streamlined experience where possible.
Many Veterans have access to a number of pension benefits and, in the unfortunate event they face injury when serving, compensation schemes, both of which are administered by Veterans UK (part of the MOD). At the present, applications for these schemes are made and managed using a largely paper-based system with forms available to download from GOV. UK. This system is undergoing reform through digitisation to ensure a faster, more effective service for Veterans in the future. Support for Veteran pensions and compensation applications can be provided to NI Veterans through the NI Veterans Welfare Service.
It is vital Veterans have the communication, referral and access pathways to ensure that they can easily find the correct support available to them. The Veterans’ Gateway provides a first point of contact to ensure Veterans are directed to the right services via a website, app telephone, SMS and live chat advisors. As of 2024, the Veterans Gateway is being reviewed and operated by the Office for Veterans’ Affairs to ensure relevant, appropriate and up to date information is made available to provide a connection between Veterans and the support services they may need.
Supporting Female Veterans
As more women join the Armed Forces, our female Veteran community is growing in number, adding to the large number of female Veterans who served in the past, during Operation Banner. We must ensure that we celebrate and recognise their contribution to the Armed Forces, and make sure the services we deliver to female Veterans meet their needs, through peer support networks and understanding gained through the Female Veterans Transformation Programme.
Making a Home in Civilian Society
Ensuring that every Veteran has a secure place to live following Service is one of the key elements of a successful transition to a fulfilling life. We will work with our partner organisations and private rental organisations to improve Veterans’ access to social housing.
Health and Wellbeing Across the UK
The health and wellbeing of Veterans living in NI remains a priority. As such several initiatives and Armed Forces Covenant programmes are funded in Northern Ireland to address this need. Currently the Office for Veteran Affairs (OVA) is funding a Veterans’ Health pilot enabled through the Defence Medical Welfare Service, to help identify Veteran need and provide a support system for those Veterans awaiting or undergoing treatment for both mental and physical health conditions. This programme is funded until July 2025. Separately the Veterans Welfare Service NI provides dedicated case workers to assist with an array of services including Welfare, Benevolence, Advocacy, assistance with Armed Forces Pensions and Compensation Scheme applications and medical provision in Physiotherapy and Psychological Therapy. The Veterans Welfare Service NI works with a range of partners to ensure the best outcomes for Veterans living in Northern Ireland, while the NI Veterans Commissioner’s Office and OVA will continue to work together to generate specific health and wellbeing data from across a range of partners within the charitable and statutory sector.
Health and Wellbeing in Antrim and Newtownabbey
Ensuring Veterans have the right health and wellbeing support is a key priority, and through this strategic Action Plan we will build upon the progress that has already been made in developing bespoke support services for Veterans. We will make them easier to access and navigate while also ensuring mainstream services are meeting Veterans’ needs.
All national health services across the UK are available to members of the Armed Forces Community. Veterans can, and are encouraged to, use these services whenever they need support and tell their GP “I have served”, so they can be signposted to specific Veterans’ support if required. This can be particularly important in Northern Ireland where the safety of disclosing Military Service is both relevant and important, to enable Veterans to seek the care and understanding they require.
In addition, Public Health Agency (PHA) NI has work-plans for select groups within the Armed Forces Community that look at historical and evidence-based inequalities. These include:
• LGBT Veterans - working with and funding the charity sector to support individuals through health issues that may arise from the historic ban on LGBT persons serving in the Armed Forces
• Families and carers - helping Integrated Care Boards and service providers recognise the unique disadvantages and associated vulnerabilities that service and serving families endure. These include issues relating to Service moves, transition, caring, dealing with life postinjury, bereavement and separation. PHA NI work plans help professionals make decisions so that Armed Forces Community families can access the best services where they live as part of their integrated care system
• Ethnic minorities - working to understand the pattern of service use and access to ensure that inequities are removed and are not created or exacerbated based on ethnicity.
Employment, Education and Skills
Stable long-term employment opportunities after Service are the foundation of positive life after service outcomes for Veterans. We know that Veterans all over the country are leaving Service equipped with skills and expertise that benefit not only themselves but our economy too.
Recognising Veterans’ Contributions
It is vital that Veterans who have gone above and beyond to serve our nation have their contribution adequately recognised. Public perceptions of Veterans’ contribution and support available to them should match the lived experience of a Veteran in the Borough.
Recognising the Contribution all Veterans have made in ANBC Area
Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council is committed to supporting all Veterans to access the services they need to thrive in civilian life, regardless of their age, gender, marital status, disability, race, religion, belief, sex or sexual orientation. We also want all Veterans and their families to feel their Service is valued and recognised.
ANBC is proud to be a leader in promoting diversity & inclusion, and our commitment to today’s Armed Forces Community reflects this.
We will develop a better understanding of the demographics of our Veteran community in the Borough than ever before. This will enable us to look at whether there are issues disproportionately affecting certain groups of Veterans.
The work of the Northern Ireland Veterans’ Commissioner has done much to act as a voice for Veterans independent from government. The NI Veterans Commissioners Office seeks to continue regional engagement, communication programmes and events to champion Veterans voices, concerns and needs. In doing so the Veterans Commissioner seeks to support Council Veterans Champions, ANBC and local Veterans wherever and by whatever means possible.
Addressing Northern Ireland Legacy Issues
The current system for addressing the past is not working well for anybody, particularly victims and survivors. It has neither delivered justice nor information to the vast majority of families, including over 1,000 of whom lost loved ones while serving during Operation Banner.
It has been clear that the government will deliver on its commitment to NI Veterans as part of a wider package to address legacy issues in Northern Ireland which focuses on reconciliation through the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR). ANBC remain firmly committed to supporting Veterans and their families through this process. Of particular importance will be making sure that Veterans who need support are able to receive the help they deserve, from pastoral care to legal assistance.
Applications for the Troubles Permanent Disablement Scheme (TPDS) can be made online at www.victimspaymentsboard.org.uk or on paper, with additional support available from TPDS advocacy case officers through WAVE Trauma, The Ely Centre or South East Fermanagh Foundation.
Promoting a Positive Public Perception of Veterans
The way the public and employers perceive Veterans, helps determine the climate into which they return when their transition out of the Armed Forces is complete.
Developing an evidence base on public and employer perceptions will inform our communications strategy to build public understanding and improve positive perceptions of Veterans. This will help showcase their strengths and contribution to society, and make sure that government services are effectively signposted. Some of the ways we will do this are:
• Conduct research to create an understanding of the Borough’s residents and employers’ perceptions of Veterans to better inform communications and policy interventions which show we value and support Veterans
• Work across ANBC departments to promote positive messaging about Veterans volunteering in their communities, including through involvement with Volunteers’ Week annually
• Create an ANBC communication strategy to promote positive images of Veterans and build an awareness of the diversity of their experiences, skills and contributions to society.
Looking ahead and next steps
The 2023-2027 Veterans’ Champion Strategy and Action Plan does not represent the limit of our ambition to support and empower our Veteran community over the next four years. ANBC will build on these commitments, ensuring those who have served are able to grasp with both hands the opportunities of civilian life. We acknowledge we cannot do this alone. We ask service charities, employers and other organisations working with Veterans and their families to work with us to achieve this vision. Together we can encourage positive public perceptions of Veterans, ensure every Veteran can find quality employment and deliver world-class, evidence-based services that meet the needs of Veterans and their families.
In 2027, ANBC will develop a fuller Veterans’ Strategy refresh, setting out how far we have come in achieving the policy outcomes set out in this initial Strategy for our Veterans, and what remains to be done to deliver on our policy ambition by 2032 to make ANBC the best place in Northern Ireland to be a Veteran.
Armed Forces Covenant
ANBC are supporting the Armed Forces Covenant. The Armed Forces Covenant is a promise that together we acknowledge and understand that those who serve or have served in the Armed Forces, and their families, should be treated with fairness and respect in the communities, economy and society in which they have served.
ANBC are committed to the following pledges:
Employment within the Council
Council policies are in place to support reservists to carry out their duties.
Communications, Engagement and Outreach
The Council appoints a Veterans’ Champion at its annual meeting for the four year term of the Council, and supports the Veterans’ Champion in a wide range of communication, engagement and outreach activity.
Health
The Council has arrangements in place for the use of meeting facilities to offer counselling services to Veterans, and provides a range of health and wellbeing promotional services to all our residents and Veterans.
Civic Responsibilities
The Council has arrangements in place to maintain and care for war memorials and war graves across the Borough, and organises a range of Remembrance and ceremonial activities including commemorations throughout the year.
For more details on the Covenant visit www.armedforcescovenant.gov.uk
Armed Forces Day 2024
This year Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council is hosting Armed Forces Day at Jordanstown Loughshore Park on Saturday 22 June 2024, in a continuation of our pride in supporting our Northern Ireland Armed Forces Community. This year’s event will comprise of a vibrant parade made up of over 600 military personnel, demonstrations, Beating Retreat, a diverse military village, children’s entertainment and a gun salute. These are just some of the highlights planned for Armed Forces Day 2024. This year Armed Forces Day will also include the only Red Arrows display to feature in Northern Ireland in 2024, as part of their 60th diamond season milestone celebrations. This event continues to positively highlight the contributions of our Armed Forces and Veteran community as a family day for everyone to enjoy.
For more details visit antrimandnewtownabbey.gov.uk/armedforcesday
01 Table of Commitments and Actions
Each policy outlined in this table represents a pledge or initiative we’re committed to implementing in line with the central themes and objectives of the Veterans’ Champion Strategy and Action Plan. Our goal is to ensure Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough becomes a leading destination in the UK for supporting and empowering Veterans.
Key themes
1: Community and Relationships
Veterans are able to build healthy relationships and integrate into their communities.
In partnership with the NIVCO and the relevant Armed Forces charities, undertake additional work and consultation to ensure the Veteran’s Gateway service has effective investment, governance and awareness amongst the Veterans’ community in order to connect people with the right support.
Develop measures on loneliness and social isolation to the annual ANBC Veterans’ Survey, in order to understand the extent to which Veterans are experiencing feelings of loneliness and social isolation.
The coordination of Veterans’ provision delivers consistent aims and principles over time in ANBC, ensuring Veterans, their families and the bereaved are treated fairly in line with the local population.
ANBC together with the Northern Health and Social Care Trust formed the Antrim and Newtownabbey Loneliness Network in 2019. This network aims to raise awareness of loneliness, share best practice and learning on ways to prevent and address loneliness and encourage championing of tackling loneliness across the Borough.
A dedicated webpage listing contact details of Veteran services.
Annual survey through Council’s Borough Life magazine to gather data on Loneliness, Housing, Benefits, Employment, Childcare, etc.
Engage quarterly with existing Community Action Groups, to discuss key policy issues affecting Veterans and their families and to enable information and best practice sharing between central and local government.
Signpost to the following:
Antrim and Newotwnabbey Loneliness Network.
Community Advice, Antrim and Newtownabbey who offer advice on benefits, grants or other financial support.
Veterans UK who administer the Armed Forces pension schemes and compensation payments for those injured or bereaved through Service.
Work across departments to promote and amplify positive messages about Veterans volunteering in their communities and the contribution they are making.
Provide information on events happening across the Borough through the Council’s quarterly Age Friendly Newsletter.
Key themes
education and skills
Veterans enter appropriate employment and can continue to enhance their careers throughout their working lives.
Develop a fast-track recruitment scheme for Service leavers and Veterans.
Promote opportunities for Service leavers and Veterans to go into careers with Uniformed Services including Health Services, and associated support staff.
Collaborate with the devolved administrations wherever possible and appropriate.
Promote opportunities for Veterans to go into teaching careers through collaboration with DfE at GB universities.
Liaise with Forces Employment, Volunteer Now and Job Centre Plus to find latest job opportunities.
Establish list of organisations employing Veterans.
Growth Hubs - Business start-up for personnel.
Work in collaboration with Northern Ireland’s other Councils to lead Go Succeed who provide expert business advice for those wanting to start their own business or grow an existing business.
www.go-succeed.com
ANBC support the Antrim and Newtownabbey Labour Market Partnership who deliver a range of programmes which can help Veterans gain the work-ready skills, experience or qualifications to move into employment or get a better job.
Circulate all job offers to Veterans.
Host Recruitment Fairs/ Insight Days to showcase opportunities and skill match Veterans to employment such as Logistics, Leadership, Welders, Machinists, Film Extras, Volunteers for Gardens/ War Cemeteries, Prison Officers and Civil Service.
Signpost to Ministry of Defence’s Enhanced Learning Credits (ELC) Scheme which promote lifelong learning amongst members of the Armed Forces. The ELC Scheme provides funding for service leavers to help reskill/retrain to go back into civilian work. This scheme remains open to Veterans up to 5 years after they leave service.
www.enhancedlearning credits.com
Signpost to Employment Support Programmes available across the Borough:
antrimandnewtownabbey gov.uk/get-into-work
Signpost to Antrim Enterprise Agency and Mallusk Enterprise Park who are on hand to support Veteran’s to develop their own business:
www.antrimenterprise.com
www.mullusk.org
Key themes
and debt
Veterans leave the Armed Forces with sufficient financial education awareness and skills to be financially self-supporting and resilient.
Expand the Armed Forces ‘marker’ (including Veterans) for new universal credit applicants to include existing claimants.
Collaboration between organisations.
Liaise with Community Advice Antrim and Newtownabbey.
Connect lead persons from Social Security Offices.
Improved collaboration between organisations to offer Veterans coherent support.
ANBC’s Health and Wellbeing Team offers free, impartial energy advice on:
• Improving energy efficiency in your home
• Heating your home more efficiently
• Managing Fuel Bills
• Making Savings through Oil Stamp savings scheme
• How to obtain a Energy Efficiency Grant for your home from NI Housing Executive
The ANBC Armed Forces and Veterans Breakfast Clubs are open to all local members of the Armed Forces, Serving or retired, Veterans or reservists and their spouses are eligible for support.
With representation from the service welfare charitries including the Veterans Welfare Service NI and other local providers, Veterans can be offered information and support on employment, volunteering, housing, health and wellbeing, funding.
Annual visits to relevant offices to enable Veterans to be signposted and assisted with claims.
Continue to deliver an Armed Forces Hub during ANBC Armed Forces and Veterans Breakfast Clubs.
Signpost to Community Advice Antrim and Newtownabbey for advice on PIP, DLA and Pensions:
www.communityadvicean. co.uk
Signpost to War Widows Association of Great Britain, a pressure group who improve the conditions of War Widows and their dependants by petitioning for improvements in pensions, benefits and other issues:
www.warwidows.org.uk
Key themes
and
All Veterans enjoy a state of positive physical and mental health and wellbeing, enabling them to contribute to wider aspects of society.
Ensure the needs of Veterans and their families are taken into account during development of national health strategies, to make sure Veterans and their families are not disadvantaged in NI.
Continue to coordinate and integrate bespoke Veterans’ mental health services.
Deliver a health improvement programme aimed at improving the health and wellbeing of men and women who are serving and who have served including Leisure programmes such as More Movement for your Mind, Steady and Strong, Live Long and Nordic Walking.
Council’s Health Intervention Action Plan (2022-2027) reinforces Council’s commitment to the delivery of exercise sessions for all users including veterans. Council aims to work with charity organisations with expertise in this area to ensure accessibility of its leisure provision. Referrals within this area will be directed towards membership and exercise sessions appropriate for their needs.
Counselling services provided through Brooke House in Antrim and Newtownabbey every Friday.
Signpost to charities who can provide bespoke Health and Wellbeing support to Veterans who have suffered injuries due to their service including but not limited to the following:
AA Veterans Support NI, helps provide activity based opportunities for Veterans and their family members to engage in, including Tab and Talk, Camping, Gardening and many other activities.
Blesma helps all serving and ex-Service men and women who have lost limbs, or lost the use of limbs or eyes, to rebuild their lives by providing rehabilitation activities and welfare support.
Blind Veterans UK supports anyone who has served in the Armed Forces, or who has done National Service, and who is now living with significant sight loss.
Help for Heroes supports those with injuries and illnesses attributable to their service in the British Armed Forces.
Shopmobility who assist people with mobility difficulties by providing free daily rental service of mobility scooters and wheelchairs.
T. 07860 709876
E. shopmobility@ talktalkbusiness.net
Key themes (continued)
4: Health and wellbeing
Support initiatives for Veterans with disabilities and better understand their needs and lived experience in collaboration with the Disability Unit.
Sharing best practice with Disabled Persons Organisations about how Veterans use adaptive sport to help increase activity levels and participation, in collaboration with other agencies, including:
• Inspire Wellbeing
• Sport NI
• IFA Disability Football
• Disability Sport NI
Key themes
5: Making a Home in Civilian Society
Veterans have a secure place to live either through buying, renting or social housing.
Conduct research to understand the supply of supported housing, including that which meets the needs of the Veteran community, and to provide an understanding of any needs gap.
Free Home Safety Checks for Over 65’s and vulnerable adults.
The Council tackles problems in relation to privately rented housing by requiring landlords to carry out necessary repair or improvement work.
Liaise with the Northern Ireland Housing Executive who ensure that everyone has access to a good affordable home in a safe and healthy community.
Develop a Working Communities Project ie. Ram’s Island and Defence Gardens Scheme.
Signpost to MLA’s for housing support. A full list can be found at:
www.niassembly.gov.uk/ your-mlas
Signpost to Forces Employment Charity. They provide employment advice, guidance and resources tailored to anyone leaving the Armed Forces, includng Veterans and their spouses to help get them back into the workplace ie. Searching for a job, preparing a CV, filling in application forms, interview techniques.
Make the Call Service, can ensure Veterans and family members can get advice and support in navigating the benefits system to ensure entitlements are claimed.
Veterans leave the Armed Forces with the resilience and awareness to remain law-abiding civilians.
Ensure the right support is in place for those Veterans who are identified in the criminal justice system: to reduce the risk of re-offending, understand why some Veterans enter the criminal justice system and do more to prevent it. Signpost
Key themes
7. Data on the Veteran community
Enhanced collection, use and analysis of data across the public, private and charitable sectors to build an evidence base to effectively identify and address the needs of Veterans.
Conduct regional engagement with local authorities to understand the data they collect and hold on the Veteran community.
Share Data where possible with Veterans Champions, whilst being aware and compliant of GDPR legislation.
Work with the Female Veterans Transformational Programme to commission and publish new qualitative research seeking to understand how female Veterans access support, and any barriers to female Veterans feeling they can seek help.
Publish official annual statistics of the frequency of bereavements within the Veteran cohort within ANBC.
Develop a single set of Veterans’ KPIs and metrics, to measure Council’s progress made against the 2018 Strategy for our Veterans outcomes.
Create an Annual Veterans’ survey through Borough Life to collect insights into their experiences and needs, and consulting with the service charity sector. This will enable ANBC to complete future analysis and gain a greater insight into the Veteran community.
Key themes
8. Public Perception and Understanding
We will develop new data and analysis products and build on existing data work to provide us with better data and insights than ever before.
Key themes
Veterans feel that their Service and experience is recognised and valued by society.
Work with Translink and the Minister for Infrastructure to introduce Bus and Rail Veterans’ cards and strive to increase accessibility and awareness of these cards to ensure Veterans and their families can avail of the cost savings.
Encourage residents of the Borough to value Veterans and understand their diverse experiences and culture.
Listen to individual Veterans’ voices by delivering a regular Veterans’ survey, asking Veterans for their experiences across a range of issues and services they use.
Deliver communications and engagement activity to increase awareness of the range of ANBC support services available to Veterans and their families, when they leave the Armed Forces through the Veteran Support Hubs and Armed Forces Day 2024.
Work to make full use of ANBC administrative datasets and information to understand how Veterans are interacting with public services ie. ANBC Borough Life Magazine.
Seek to highlight and recognise the postive contributions and achievements of the ex-military and Veteran community in NI, to demonstrate the real narrative of the attributes achieved through military service.
Delivery of dedicated Armed Forces Hubs during Veterans Breakfast Clubs posted in the Borough.
Act as a platform to highlight Veterans’ stories, achievements and upcoming initiatives within the community.
Armed Forces Day 2024 hosted by ANBC.
Annual events held including:
Remembrance Day services across Borough.
ANBC Festival of Remembrance.
Veterans Roadshow.
