The Leader of the Opposition and of the Liberal Democrat Group, Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, is proposing a motion to the next meeting of full Council (7 September) backing a national campaign by the Royal British Legion that the 2021 Census should count current and former service personnel in by asking specific questions about their circumstances.
Commenting, Councillor Sykes said: “Current and former service personnel have served and fought for their country. Some have been killed, more wounded, and all have been changed by this experience.”
“As a Council we have recognised their exceptional contribution to our community by signing up to the Armed Forces Community Covenant, yet we, and our public sector partners, are hampered in our efforts to provide for their needs, and those of their family members, by the lack of information we have available about their circumstances.”
“From our last Census, we know how many people in our borough claim to be Jedi knights, yet we know very little about the real-life warriors who live in our midst.”
The motion is being supported by Liberal Democrat Councillor, Diane Williamson, Shadow Spokesperson for Neighbourhoods and Co-operatives. She added:
“As a Council we want to support service personnel and their families, yet we are hampered by the lack of information available to us from official sources. Changing the Census to ensure that we capture the right information will make this become an invaluable tool to enable us to better meet their needs. We are calling on our local MPs and Secretary of State for Defence to back our veterans and back this campaign.”
The nine Councillors of the Oldham Liberal Democrat Group will all show their personal support for the campaign by signing individual pledges.
The motion reads:
Council 7th Sept. 2016 – Notice of Opposition Business – Count Them In: Making the next census count for our Armed Forces community
This Council once more wishes to place on record its admiration for the courage, service and sacrifice of members of Her Majesty’s armed forces, past and present, during military conflicts, in countering terrorism and in carrying out peacekeeping and humanitarian duties.
This Council notes:
- The obligations it owes to the Armed Forces community within the Borough of Oldham as enshrined in the Armed Forces Covenant; that the Armed Forces community should not face disadvantage in the provision of services and that special consideration is appropriate in some cases, especially for those who have given the most.
- The absence of definitive and comprehensive statistics on the size or demographics of the Armed Forces community within the Borough of Oldham. This includes serving Regular and Reserve personnel, veterans, and their families.
- That the availability of such data would greatly assist the council, local partner agencies, the voluntary sector, and national Government in the planning and provision of services to address the unique needs of the Armed Forces community within the Borough of Oldham.
This Council therefore resolves to:
- Support and promote The Royal British Legion’s campaign ‘Count Me In’ to include a new topic in the 2021 census that concerns military service and membership of the Armed Forces community.
- Urge elected members for this Borough to sign up as individual supporters to the ‘Count Me In’ campaign.
- Ask the Cabinet Member with responsibility for the Community Covenant to write to the Secretary of State for Defence, The Rt. Hon Michael Fallon MP, setting out the Council’s position that we wish to see the UK Parliament approve a final census questionnaire in 2019, which includes questions concerning our Armed Forces community, for use in the 2021 Census.
- Ask the Chief Executive to write to the Borough’s three Members of Parliament asking them to also make representations on this matter to the Secretary of State for Defence.