The Armed Forces Community Covenant is a voluntary statement of mutual support between a civilian community and its local armed forces community - a two-way statement aimed at encouraging support for members of the Armed Forces Community living and working in the area, including ex-service personnel, their families and widows and widowers.

It will provide an opportunity for the council and its partners to work together to make the transition easier for military personnel integrating into civilian life.

The Rotherham Community Covenant will complement the Armed Forces Covenant published by the Government last June. That outlined the moral obligation between the Nation, the Government and the Armed Forces at a local level and stated the Armed Forces Community should not be disadvantaged compared to other citizens in the provision of public and commercial services.

Research has shown that returning to civilian life can be daunting for those who have spent even a short time in the armed forces, as all their welfare needs such has housing, education and health matters are met by the Ministry of Defence. In order to assist this transition into civilian life, the Government's Covenant Taskforce made a number of recommendations, including local authorities creating their own 'Community Covenant' to ensure they meet the obligations to the local armed forces community.

A multi-agency working group was established by Rotherham Borough Council geared to identifying and addressing issues relating to ex-service personnel and their families. The working group included representatives from all the relevant council services such as housing, education, transport and benefits, as well as from the health service, the Department of Work and Pensions, and the local business and voluntary sectors.

Members of these organisations will be attending the signing ceremony in addition to representatives of local armed forces organisations and the Army, MP's Kevin Barron and John Healey, as well as the Leader of Rotherham Borough Council, Coun. Roger Stone, and Chief Executive Martin Kimber.

Initial work undertaken in Rotherham identified that there was no data to show the number of ex military personnel and their families in Rotherham - an issue that is replicated country-wide. However, the Ministry of Defence states that that 1 in 6 of the local population will be ex-military. This means that the ex-military population in Rotherham is 15,276, based on the 2010 mid-year estimated population of 254,605.

Once the Covenant has been signed the authority can then apply for funding from the Government for community projects geared to helping armed forces personnel and their families. The Government has set aside £30 million over four years and community projects will be assessed against eligible criteria, with local authorities being asked to match any grant awarded on a pound for pound basis.

Coun. Mahroof Hussain, Rotherham Borough Council's Cabinet Member for Community Development, Equalities and Young People's Issues, said the signing will demonstrate the determination of the authority and its partners to do all it can to help and support local members of the armed forces, both regular and reservists, past and present, as well as their families.

He added: "This is hugely relevant to Rotherham's 'One Town One Community' initiative, which has a focus of equality and fair treatment for all Rotherham citizens. I am very proud to be involved in this because members of our Armed Forces do an amazing job and they do sacrifice some freedoms, that as civilians we take for granted.

"And of course, as part of their duties they sometimes face danger, suffer serious injury or even pay the ultimate sacrifice. Families also play a vital role in supporting the operational effectiveness of our Armed Forces and so in return we all have a moral obligation to support this special group of people as well as their families."

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