New post announced to strengthen community ties with the military

Two councils have joined forces to strengthen links and support to military personnel in the area.

Highland Council and Moray Council have been awarded cash from the MoD’s Military Covenant Fund for a Liaison Officer post.

The post-holder will work with both councils and military bases at Lossiemouth, Kinloss and Fort George to provide information, guidance and support to ensure military families get full access to local services. It will also include working with a range of agencies that support the Armed Forces Covenant for the area.

The post will be advertised shortly and an appointment made by the end of August.

Convener of Moray Council, Cllr James Allen, announced the post at a military briefing session by Base Commanders from RAF Lossiemouth and Kinloss Barracks for Moray councillors.

“This post is about us as a community giving something back to our armed forces,” he said.

“This post will help military families access all the services councils can provide, and given the recently announced expansion of RAF Lossiemouth many more personnel will be in need of these.”

Highland Council’s Armed Forces and Veterans’ Champion Cllr Roddy Balfour, said: “Highland Council is delighted to have been awarded funding to allow the appointment of an individual dedicated to taking forward the commitments within the Council’s Armed Forces Covenant.

“Working jointly with Moray Council will see a sensible, joined-up approach to ensure better delivery of services to our Armed Forces communities.”

The Armed Forces Covenant sets out the relationship between the public, the government and the armed forces, citing the moral obligation to current and former members of the armed forces and their families, and it sets out how they should expect to be treated. Moray and Highland councils signed up the Armed Forces Covenant some years ago to help cement relationships between the organisations.

The Covenant Fund has £10 million each year to support the Armed Forces Covenant by funding projects which address specific priorities. Moray has previously been awarded £250,000 from the fund towards the Covesea Lighthouse Community Company project, and £65,000 to develop the Skillforce leadership skills project in primary schools.