Issue - meetings

To report to the committee the annual statement of the Armed Forces Councillor Champion.

Following consideration, the Committee unanimously resolved to:

(1)      Receive and note the annual statement of the Armed Forces Councillor Champion.

The Committee received a report to the Committee of the annual statement of the Armed Forces Councillor Champion.

The Committee considered the following matters:

a)            Raising Awareness within GP Clinics. The Armed Forces Champion pressed the importance of increasing awareness of the Armed Forces Covenant within local GP clinics.

b)            Future of the Armed Forces Champion Role. Following a question from a Member, the Armed Forces Champion proposed that, following the election for the East Surrey Shadow Council, a meeting including the Shadow Councillors should be held to consider the future arrangements for the championing of the armed forces community – i.e. one Champion for the entire East Surrey area, or one Champion per ward, etc.

c)            Silver and Gold Status. In response to a question from a Member, the Armed Forces Champion stated that, in order to achieve silver status or higher, the Council would need to demonstrate increased proactiveness in the steps taken to improve the services  provided for the borough’s armed forces community, and suggested possible steps such as increasing awareness within local GP clinics, or developing a housing policy for veterans.

d)            Advisory Board. The Armed Forces Champion stated that he had been involved in setting up an advisory board, including representatives from local charities such as Citizens Advice and Age Concern, to discuss how local services could be improved for veterans and the wider armed forces community within the borough.

e)            Potential Agenda Item for Future HLP Meeting. The Armed Forces Champion suggested that an item could be taken to a future meeting of the Health Liaison Panel for consideration, to discuss the topic of increasing awareness of the Armed Forces Covenant within local GP clinics. The Committee was supportive of the suggestion. The Head of Housing and Community stated that he would reach out to the Epsom Primary Care Network Director of Operations to discuss the matter.

Following consideration, the Committee unanimously resolved to:

(1)      Receive and note the annual statement of the Armed Forces Councillor Champion.