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The Nations Commitment (SPCP)

The Nations Commitment. And What is That?

The Service Personnel Command Paper (SPCP), published in July 2008, set out the Nation’s Commitment to the Armed Forces – its personnel, their families and veterans.  The Paper contains over 40 commitments aimed at ending any disadvantage imposed by the unique demands of Service life today, and providing special treatment where appropriate.  The commitments cover such things as healthcare; education and skills; accommodation; and employment opportunities.

This is a ground-breaking strategy involving many different Government Departments, local authorities and others.  It will take time to deliver, but much progress has already been made. This update brief sets out what has been delivered so far, and progress against the other commitments.
Background.

This strategy is taking steps to counter any disadvantage incurred by service in the Armed Forces – eg. by ensuring that public services such as education and healthcare are not disrupted by the mobile nature of Service life.  It covers many aspects of civic life:  healthcare provision; education and skills; accommodation; and employment opportunities. The Command Paper also unashamedly promotes special treatment for those personnel and, where appropriate, their families, who have sacrificed most, suffering death or terrible physical and mental injury, in the course of duty.

Under Secretary of State for Defence Kevan Jones said:
     “Last year the Government made two ground-breaking promises to our Forces, their families and veterans – first, that we would end any disadvantage in access to public services imposed by Service life, and second, that we would promote special treatment for those who have sacrificed most. 

     “We have made a great deal of progress in delivering on those promises – such as doubling compensation for severe injuries, safeguarding places on hospital waiting lists, and giving priority on state school boarding places.

     “But there is a lot still to do.  The Government’s job now is to make sure we deliver on the rest of the nation’s commitments to the Forces, and to keep people informed of the positive changes as they come into effect.”
 

The three leaflets here were published by the Government and outline that commitment - The Nations Commitment' to you. They were first issued in August 2009.

For Families

For the Serving Person

For Veterans

 

To read the original SPCP Paper of 17 July 08 Click here

To read the Annual Report - The Nations Commitment Nov 09 Click here 

 

To read the statement by the First Minister of Wales on the SPCP Click here To read the same version in Welsh Click here

 

 

Dawn McCafferty, Charimain or the RAF Families Federation writes:

     “The RAF Families Federation has been an active member of the External Reference Group charged with monitoring the implementation of the Service Personnel Command Paper.  The launch of such a wide-reaching report was in itself a significant step forward in highlighting the many challenges confronting military families and we have welcomed the renewed sense of purpose emanating from many Government Departments in seeking to understand and mitigate some of the disadvantages experienced by Service families.

      "This first annual report seeks to highlight progress made to date and it is our job as an independent witness on behalf of RAF families to ensure that promises made are promises kept.  In some areas, progress has been very encouraging; in others we see the commitments as 'work in progress'.  However, the direction of travel is positive and we are pleased to be engaged with officials from a wide range of Government Departments who are now actively seeking our views as to how they can improve service delivery to the Armed Forces constituency.

      "We will continue to provide evidence of the unique challenges facing military families and hope that our evidence will contribute to an enhanced appreciation of the unique contribution of military families to the operational effectiveness of our men and women on the front line.”

 

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