The new North Yorkshire Council is set to pledge its support to members of the Armed Forces and military veterans.

The new local authority, which will launch on April 1, will adopt the Armed Forces Covenant, which is enshrined in law to ensure military personnel and veterans have access to services across both the private and public sector.

Council leader, Cllr Carl Les, who will assume the leadership of the new authority in the spring, said: ‘This is the ideal time to build on our work with partners and to re-establish a renewed collective commitment to our work with the Armed Forces community.’

There are 10,770 military personnel in the county. It also has among the highest numbers of veterans in the country, with 29,831 former members of the Armed Forces living in North Yorkshire, according to data from the 2021 Census.

‘The county is proud of its military connections – the Armed Forces based in the county, the veterans who live in the county and all their families,’ said Cllr Les.

‘We serve an area with several military bases on our patch and we employ staff who are veterans those who have children who are serving personnel.

‘One key feature of the due-regard duty relates to the awareness of the Armed Forces Covenant in day-to-day delivery of council services, as well as the planning, resource and reviewing of services.

‘Alongside local government reorganisation, the new statutory due regard duty presents a timely opportunity for North Yorkshire Council to consolidate the good work already undertaken within the county and set out the steps it will take to meet the duty going forward.’