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Research & Analysis Published 14 Nov 2025 House of Commons Library ↗ View on Parliament

The Armed Forces Covenant and its status in law

Type: Commons Briefing Paper (CBP-9072) The Armed Forces Covenant is a statement of the moral obligation which exists between the nation, the government and the armed forces.

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↓ CBP-9072.pdf
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The Armed Forces Covenant and its status in law - House of Commons Library

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The Armed Forces Covenant and its status in law
(634 KB
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Download ‘The Armed Forces Covenant and its status in law’ report (634 KB
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The
Armed Forces Covenant
(PDF) is a statement of the moral obligation which exists between the nation, the government and the armed forces. It was published in May 2011 and its core principles were enshrined in law, for the first time, in the Armed Forces Act 2011.

The government is required by the act to produce an
annual report
to Parliament on the Armed Forces Covenant. In doing so,
the Secretary of State for Defence must have regard to
:

the unique obligations of, and sacrifices made by, the armed forces;

the principle that it is desirable to remove disadvantages arising for service people from membership, or former membership, of the armed forces; and

the principle that special provision for service people may be justified by the effects on such people of membership, or former membership, of the armed forces.

These are the core principles of the Covenant.

The Armed Forces Act 2021 introduced a new requirement for some public bodies, including the NHS and local authorities, to pay ‘due regard’ to the principles of the Covenant when carrying out specific public functions in the areas of housing, healthcare and education.
Statutory Guidance on the Armed Forces Covenant Duty
(PDF) was published in November 2022, when the duty came into force.