Walsall Council’s commitment to supporting those who have served their country has been solidified with a decision to add ‘armed forces’ to the list of protected characteristics in the borough.
The Equality Act 2010 identifies nine protected characteristics including age, sex, and race. It does not however recognise those who serve or have served in the armed forces.
As part of continuing support, Walsall Council re-signed the Armed Forces Covenant in November 2023, renewing its pledge to support the armed forces community across the borough.
Following this, the council was awarded a Silver Award in the Ministry of Defence’s Employer Recognition Scheme (DERS) in July 2024. This recognised the local authority for demonstrating significant support to the armed forces community through policies and practices.
Councillor Edward Lee, Portfolio Holder for Internal Resources, said, “I am very proud that we have come together to commit to doing right by those who serve or have served in the armed forces.
“Adding armed forces as a protected local characteristic shows that we take this very seriously and our commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant is not a box-ticking exercise.”
In February 2024, Walsall Council moved to acknowledge care leavers as a protected local characteristic.
Councillor Adam Hicken, Walsall Council’s Armed Forces Champion, said, "We want our armed forces community to know that we are on their side.
"Ten years ago, we first signed the Armed Forces Covenant, pledging our support to the local armed forces community. Now we’ve taken it a stage further and recognised armed forces as a protected characteristic to help us deliver on our promises.”
The motion to recognise the armed forces as a protected characteristic was approved alongside Walsall Council’s new Draft Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) strategy at a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday 17 July 2024.
A link to the meeting and the report can be accessed via: https://cmispublic.walsall.gov.uk/cmis/Meetings/tabid/70/ctl/ViewMeetingPublic/mid/397/Meeting/3932/Committee/514/Default.aspx
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