Council scoops award for its work with veterans

A PROGAMME of work aimed at addressing the problems faced by members of the Armed Forces after they leave the service has been recognised with a Silver Employer Recognition award by the Regional Commands of the Ministry of Defence.

The award publicly recognises the support employers and organisations offer to members of the Armed Forces community and offers a formal way of thanking those businesses and organisations for their ongoing support.

Darlington Borough Council has worked with its partners to ensure that veterans are able to find the information and advice they need to help them adjust to life after the Armed Forces. With this in mind, an updated directory has been produced with information on support available locally for serving forces personnel, their families and veterans.

This includes practical information on moving schools, mortgage deals and renting housing alongside pension support and healthcare for injured service personnel. The directory also covers employment support when leaving the Armed Forces.

The Council is currently putting in place a new policy for the employment of reservists as well as promoting the benefits of employing reservists to other businesses in Darlington.

Councillor Veronica Copeland, pictured above, is the Veterans’ Champion for Darlington and recently proposed a motion to add weight to The Royal British Legion's ‘Count Them In’ campaign for the 2021 census. This motion was passed unanimously by full Council on 21 July 2016. The campaign calls for additional questions to be included in the 2021 census aimed at capturing the much-needed data on the Armed Forces community, particularly reservists and veterans.

Councillor Copeland, who is also the Council’s Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Housing, said: “This is brilliant news. We have worked with our partners in Health to look at and deal with the problems faced by veterans as they leave the Armed Forces. Life can be more uncertain outside the Forces as people find themselves having to deal with new issues such as finding a place to live and a new career path.

“With a large Armed Forces population on our doorstep we felt it was essential to have as much support as possible available to help veterans make a fresh and untroubled start to civilian life.”

Major Neil Coatsworth MBE, commanding officer of 50 Signal Squadron, which is based at the Army Reserve Centre, in Neasham Road, Darlington, added: "Darlington Borough Council has worked tirelessly to ensure our Armed Forces are supported in line with the Armed Forces Covenant and the Council is fully deserving of this most prestigious award. I was delighted to hear the Council had been selected and would like to thank Cllr Copeland and the DBC team for their continued efforts. Well done to everyone involved."