The Armed Forces Covenant and its status in law

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.

During the passage of the Armed Forces Act 2021 the then Conservative Government resisted calls by opposition parties and military charities to expand this requirement to every area of public policy and to apply it to national government and devolved administrations.

In its 2024 election manifesto (PDF), the Labour Party committed to “strengthen support for our Armed Forces communities by putting the Armed Forces Covenant fully into law’. The Prime Minister announced in June 2025 that legislation to expand the Armed Force Covenant Duty to central government and the devolved administrations, and to bring additional policy areas within its scope, would be taken forward as part of the next Armed Forces Bill in 2026.