A proposal that would have signed Belfast City up to a scheme that gives special privileges to past and present members of the British Army has failed after Nationalist votes at City Hall outnumbered the combined votes of Unionists and the Alliance Party.
The DUP Armed Forces Covenant saga at Belfast City Council came to an apparent end at the February full council meeting this week, after months of their motion bouncing between City Hall committee and full council meetings.
The failed motion by DUP Alderman James Lawlor stated that Belfast Council “recognises the unique skills that are held by Armed Forces service leavers and recognises that many veterans can face disadvantages compared to the general population, arising from military life, when accessing services and as such.”
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The motion urged the council to “sign up to the Armed Forces Covenant immediately.”
The covenant sets out two principles - the first that those who serve in the armed forces, whether regular or reserve, those who have served in the past and their families, should face no disadvantage compared to other citizens in the provision of public and commercial services. The second is that special consideration is appropriate in some cases, especially for those who have been injured and bereaved.
The intention of the covenant specifically relates to issues around housing, education and healthcare. The Armed Forces Act 2006 is a UK wide Act which imposes a statutory duty upon specified bodies to have due regard to principles of the covenant.
Last week Sinn Féin and the SDLP successfully blocked a decision to sign the Armed Forces Covenant at committee level at City Hall after an officer report at the local authority stated it was “a divisive issue” in the city. A report ruled out the need for a full equality impact assessment, which would have involved a lengthy public consultation.
Officials noted that while the signing of the covenant required no further screening, any future decisions involving council money being spent on anything related to the signing of the covenant would face further equality screening.
Earlier at the January meeting of the full Belfast City Council there were dramatic scenes as Sinn Féin “called-in” a vote on the Armed Forces Covenant over procedure, after one of their councillor’s votes was not accepted by the City Solicitor. The DUP motion passed on a knife edge poll that evening due to a casting vote by the Alliance Lord Mayor.
The passage of the motion however was not over, as it had to receive an initial “equality screening” to ascertain if it had to go out to public consultation. Sinn Féin and the SDLP were able again to block the motion at the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee, forcing its return to a vote at the February full council meeting.
At that full council meeting this week, 28 elected members voted for the Armed Forces Covenant, from all the Unionist parties, and the Alliance Party, while 29 voted against, from Sinn Féin, the SDLP, and People Before Profit. Two Green Party members abstained.
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