The DUP have failed to get Belfast Council to sign up to the Armed Forces Covenant due to resistance from Nationalist parties.
At the December meeting of the council’s Strategic Policy and Resources Committee, the chamber was split down the middle over a DUP motion for City Hall to sign up to a covenant dedicated to ending disadvantages for ex army servicemen and women, and giving them extra privileges.
The motion by DUP Alderman James Lawlor states that Belfast Council “recognises the unique skills that are held by Armed Forces service leavers and recognises that many veterans can face disadvantages compared to the general population, arising from military life, when accessing services and such.”
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The motion urged the council to “sign up to the Armed Forces Covenant immediately”.
A proposal by Sinn Féin not to sign up to the covenant was carried with ten votes, from Sinn Féin and the SDLP, to eight votes from the DUP and Alliance who were against the Sinn Féin proposal. One Green councillor abstained from voting.
The decision will go to the full council meeting in January for ratification. It could face another vote at that point, the result of which is uncertain at this stage, due to the combined numbers of parties. The motion might still pass, or not, according to the attendance of individual elected members on the day.
At the S,P&R committee meeting on Friday (December 13), Sinn Féin Councillor Matt Garrettt said: “The motion is asking us for a report to come back. We won’t support that. Rather than getting a report and bringing it back, for us to disagree with it ultimately, we would like to record our opposition to it now.
“It is an issue of equality here, it is an issue about access to services, and it is an issue about not discriminating against anybody, no matter who they are, or what their profession is. For us it is a no.”
DUP Councillor Sarah Bunting said: “The report is to come back to show how this council can help stop inequality. There are members of the armed services, veterans coming out who are being disadvantaged when they are trying to access public services, whether it is health, housing, education.
“This council does run education programmes. This (the covenant) has already been enshrined in law. And I do not know why we have an issue with a report coming back - we have reports for multiple (issues) that we don’t always agree on. But if we bring a report back, we can see where we can get agreement.”
The Armed Forces Covenant website states the covenant “is a promise that together we acknowledge and understand that those who serve or have served in the armed forces, and their families, including the bereaved, should be treated with fairness and respect in the communities, economy, and society they serve with their lives”.
It adds: “Its two principles are that, recognising the unique obligations of and sacrifices made by the armed forces, that those who serve in the armed forces, whether regular or reserve, and those who have served in the past and their families, should face no disadvantage compared to other citizens in the provision of public and commercial services. (Also that) special consideration is appropriate in some cases, especially for those who have given most, such as the injured and the bereaved.”
The covenant promotes those who serve or served in the armed forces “pay less or nothing” for certain goods and services, and are “eligible for goods or services that aren’t available to others.” It also suggests those who serve or served in the armed forces “are more easily able to access goods or services,” that they “receive higher quality goods or services” and “take less time to receive goods or services.”
The website states the “Covenant Legal Duty” is a “legal obligation on certain public bodies (including local authorities, governing bodies of certain state schools, various NHS bodies, and other organisations) to have due regard to the principles of the Armed Forces Covenant when carrying out certain functions in healthcare, education and housing." It states: "It has been in force since November 2022.”
English (United States) ·