Northamptonshire County Council
Northamptonshire is home to about 30,000 Veterans across the county. According to a 2018 survey of 450 Veterans living in Northamptonshire, 45% find it hard to adapt to civilian life.
A good thing, then, that the county is united in its commitment to provide the best possible support services to its Armed Forces community.
All seven Local Authority Housing departments in Northamptonshire operate a common allocation policy – a policy that sets out in detail eligibility for social housing and how it is assessed – in regard to veterans. This policy overrides the requirement to have a local connection to the area, such as work, family or previous residence there, and applies for five years following the veteran’s discharge from Service.
Face-to-face training on how to apply the Armed Forces Covenant is offered to front line housing staff as a matter of course.
The Armed Forces Covenant Northamptonshire website has a dedicated housing advice section providing information for veterans and their families. This section also contains online learning modules, for people working within the social housing or homelessness sectors, about the Covenant, housing and homelessness.
And the AFC Northamptonshire partnership has a wide range of members including representatives from all the district and borough councils, local service charities and military organisations. The partnership has its own Action Plan, including a section on housing, and the partnership constantly monitors local issues concerning the Armed Forces community.