This study, funded by Forces in Mind Trust, examines local implementation of the Armed Forces Covenant. Building on previous ‘Our Community, Our Covenant’ studies, which addressed the core aspects of Covenant delivery and its impact, this research delves into the local realities of the Covenant’s implementation, including different local and regional delivery models, structures, and partnerships.

Our Community, Our Covenant and beyond

Examining local realities and progress achieved in Armed Forces Covenant delivery

Edward Bryan, Linda Slapakova, Harper Fine, Conlan Ellis, Tony Blake, Lisa McCance, Geordie Milligan, Meri Mayhew

ResearchPublished Oct 14, 2025

Cover: Our Community, Our Covenant and beyond
Download PDF
Additional Downloads

Includes Executive Summary

The Armed Forces Covenant is a pledge acknowledging that members of the Armed Forces Community should not face disadvantage compared to the wider population in the provision of public and commercial services and may receive special consideration in certain cases. Since its introduction in 2011, the Covenant has been a cornerstone of Armed Forces Community support in the UK.

This study, funded by Forces in Mind Trust, is part of the ‘Our Community, Our Covenant’ research series that examines how Covenant pledges are delivered by local government, other service providers, and partner organisations. Specifically, the study explored: (i) the evolving environment for delivery of the Covenant and wider support to the Armed Forces Community; (ii) how local and national partners work with statutory authorities to uphold the Covenant; (iii) how the Covenant is delivered in different local and regional settings; and (iv) the ways in which different local delivery models shape the Covenant’s implementation.

The study also presents findings on progress in the Covenant’s delivery, highlighting several areas where significant developments have been achieved. These include improved awareness among local authority staff of the Covenant, the Armed Forces Community, and the potential disadvantage that they face. Several persistent challenges were also identified, including restricted awareness of the Covenant among front-line service providers, difficulties identifying Armed Forces Community members at first point of access, and fragmentation of the support landscape.

Key Findings

The external environment for Covenant delivery is highly dynamic, presenting challenges and opportunities.

  • The introduction of the Covenant Duty in 2022 has given new momentum to Covenant delivery. However, alongside this and wider changes in the policy landscape, local authorities and their partners have had to navigate devolution across England, declining central government funding, local and national elections, the ‘cost of living crisis’, and COVID-19.

Covenant delivery has seen marked advancements in some areas but continues to face challenges in others.

  • Key progress includes increasing awareness among local authority staff of the Covenant, the Armed Forces Community, and the disadvantage they may face. However, further progress is necessary in improving awareness of the Armed Forces Community and the Covenant among frontline service providers, communication and signposting to relevant services, and strategic planning, among other areas. Additionally, it remains difficult to ascertain the actual level of progress achieved in Covenant delivery across all local authorities.

There are various models for local Covenant delivery, with emerging evidence of good practice helping to further promote and facilitate progress. However, tailored and context-aware approaches are essential.

  • Local Covenant activities are often embedded in a ‘core infrastructure’, but their delivery differs depending on an area’s geography, profile of the Armed Forces Community, local service providers, and the wider support landscape. Rather than providing a ‘one size fits all’ blueprint, cases of good practice offer insight into how existing Covenant delivery models might be amended, extended, or updated depending on local contexts and circumstances.

Recommendations

The study provided 26 recommendations oriented at:

  • Promoting and fostering greater understanding of the Covenant among relevant service providers, the Armed Forces Community, and the wider public.
  • Grounding the delivery of the Covenant in tangible, measurable outcomes to support ongoing evaluation efforts.
  • Encouraging all organisations supporting delivery of the Covenant and wider support for the Armed Forces Community to engage in partnership working.
  • Pursuing opportunities to further strengthen and better enable Covenant delivery at the local, regional, and national level.
  • Embedding effective Covenant delivery and wider support to the Armed Forces Community in robust data, research, and analysis.

Topics

Document Details

  • Copyright: RAND Corporation and Shared Intelligence
  • Publisher: RAND Corporation
  • Availability: Web-Only
  • Year: 2025
  • Pages: 138
  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.7249/RRA4068-1
  • Document Number: RR-A4068-1

Citation

Chicago Manual of Style

Bryan, Edward, Linda Slapakova, Harper Fine, Conlan Ellis, Tony Blake, Lisa McCance, Geordie Milligan, and Meri Mayhew, Our Community, Our Covenant and beyond: Examining local realities and progress achieved in Armed Forces Covenant delivery. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2025. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA4068-1.html.
BibTeX RIS

Research conducted by

This research was sponsored by the Forces in Mind Trust, an independent UK Trust supported by the National Lottery Community Fund and conducted within the Defence, Security, and Justice Program of RAND Europe.

This publication is part of the RAND research report series. Research reports present research findings and objective analysis that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors. All RAND research reports undergo rigorous peer review to ensure high standards for research quality and objectivity.

RAND is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis. RAND's publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors.