Armed forces support | Cumbria County Council

Cumbria County Council is committed to giving fair support to members of the armed forces, veterans and their families whilst recognising and remembering the sacrifices they have made.

This is set out in the Cumbrian Armed Forces Community Covenant (PDF 309kb).

The covenant means that the Council, its partners and the wider community in Cumbria, will offer recognition, consideration, help and support to the Armed Forces community, addressing issues such as housing, health care, welfare employment and help in the community.

The aims of the covenant are to:

Encourage local communities to support the armed forces in their areas and vice versa
Promote understanding and awareness amongst the public of issues affecting the armed forces community
Recognise and remember sacrifices made by the armed forces community
Encourage activities which will help integrate the armed forces community into local life.

Cumbria County Council has one Armed Forces Portfolio Holder, as well as six Local Committee Armed Forces Champions:

Celia Tibble (Portfolio Holder)

Emma Louise-Williamson

Carni McCarron-Holmes

Veterans' Gateway - The first point of contact for veterans seeking support.

Employment Support

As part of the covenant the council is also committed to doing all that it can to support the armed forces community into paid employment.

Find out what jobs are available at Cumbria County Council.

Guaranteed interview scheme for veterans (PDF 159kb)

Other employment sites offering vacancies in Cumbria that may be worth a visit include:

Allerdale Borough Council

Barrow Borough Council

Carlisle City Council

Copeland Borough Council

Eden District Council

South Lakeland District Council

Sellafield

Additional employment support

The RFEA now provide through life employment support for all service personnel no matter how long they have served. Use the link provided to their website for more information.
www.rfea.org.uk

The Royal British Legion also provide practical support to serving men and women, veterans (ex-Service of all ages) and their families. You can explore how they can help you by visiting their website for information and guidance. britishlegion.org.uk/get-support/

On 25 February, Cumbria County Council co-hosted with the North West Reserve Forces and Cadets Association (NW RFCA) an Employer Recognition Scheme conference in Penrith. Speakers included; Lord Lieutenant, Chief Executive Katherine Fairclough, Portfolio Holder Cllr Celia Tibble and Cumbria LEP Chief Executive Jo Lappin. This focussed on how organisations improve the level of support on offer for ex-service personnel and reservists. The Council has been a Silver employer since 2016, and is committed to supporting our ex-service and reservist workforce which supports our forces-friendly recruitment process. For any organisations interested in applying for the Scheme then please follow the link.