Currently, while there is information on support for veterans available on the Council’s website, information is missing about the Council’s policies supporting veterans by giving them additional consideration when assessing housing need, and not counting income from Service Invaliding Pensions (SIPs) when assessing Housing Benefit.
Lib Dem Councillor Sam Al-Hamdani said: “The Armed Forces Community is currently updating the information, in particular to reflect the new ‘Valour’ scheme, which the Council is participating in as part of its work as a signatory of the Armed Forces Covenant.
“I’m simply pushing to ensure that it’s easier for veterans to find information on some of the existing policies that the Council has already agreed.”
Oldham Council holds the Gold standard in the Armed Forces Employer Recognition Scheme, and works regularly with the veterans community and the Royal British Legion to support veterans. Councillor Al-Hamdani has identified a series of motions and policies which the Council already has that support the armed forces community, but which aren’t currently shown on the support pages.
Councillor Al-Hamdani added: “We could always do more, but there is a lot of work already being done to support veterans in Oldham, but if people aren’t aware of it, it isn’t doing its job. Making it easy for veterans to access any support that is available is vital, and getting this information out there is part of that work.”
