The Colte Partnership
Source: gov.uk (2025-11-10)

We, the undersigned, commit to honour the Armed Forces Covenant and support the Armed Forces Community. We recognise the value Serving Personnel, both Regular and Reservists, Veterans and military families contribute to our business and our country.

The Armed Forces Covenant

An enduring covenant between the people of the United Kingdom, Her Majesty’s Government and all those who serve or have served in the Armed Forces of the Crown and their families

The first duty of Government is the defence of the realm. Our Armed Forces fulfil that responsibility on behalf of the Government, sacrificing some civilian freedoms, facing danger and, sometimes, suffering serious injury or death as a result of their duty. Families also play a vital role in supporting the operational effectiveness of our Armed Forces. In return, the whole nation has a moral obligation to the members of the Naval Service, the Army and the Royal Air Force, together with their families. They deserve our respect and support, and fair treatment.

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. Special consideration is appropriate in some cases, especially for those who have given most such as the injured and the bereaved.

This obligation involves the whole of society: it includes voluntary and charitable bodies, private organisations, and the actions of individuals in supporting the Armed Forces. Recognising those who have performed military duty unites the country and demonstrates the value of their contribution. This has no greater expression than in upholding this Covenant.

Section 1: Principles of the Armed Forces Corporate Covenant

1.1 We The Colte Partnership will endeavour in our business dealings to uphold the key principles of the Armed Forces Covenant, which are:
- no member of the Armed Forces Community should face disadvantage in the provision of public and commercial services compared to any other citizen;
- and in some circumstances that special treatment may be appropriate especially for the injured or bereaved.
Section 2: Demonstrating our commitment

2.1 The Colte Partnership recognises the value serving personnel, reservists, veterans and military families bring to our business. We will seek to uphold the principles of the Armed Forces Covenant, by pledging to the following:
- Armed Forces Friendly
- UK Service Veterans And Leavers
- UK Service Spouses And Partners
- UK Reservists
- Armed Forces Day
- Reserve Forces Day
- Armed Forces Charities
We also pledge the following:

We will engage with the Career Transition Partnership. We provide and promote training, such as e-learning, for our staff on the Armed Forces Com-munity, including Reservist GP giving training to clinicians and reception staff. We will promote the Armed Forces Covenant, the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme Bronze Award and will offer support for the Armed Forces Community to our staff and patients. We will use the Covenant logo on our communications and marketing and the Employer Recog-nition Scheme logo once our Bronze Award has been achieved. We have appointed an Armed Forces Champion within our organisation to function as a focal point for organising and promoting support for the Armed Forces Community. We will signpost members of the Armed Forces Community to available support, for example SSAFA, ABF The Soldiers Charity, Op COURAGE, Op NOVA, Ops RESTORE and Ops COMMUNITY and Colchester City Council Armed Forces Team. We run a monthly Armed Forces Community Support Café in partnership with Colchester City Council and Prettygate Baptist Church. This also includes attendance from other external organi-sations who support our Armed Forces Community. We have taken part in and promote the veteran-friendly accreditation for GP practices. All nine GP Practices within The Colte Partnership are accredited. We will ensure available dedicated healthcare services for members of the Armed Forces Com-munity, such as Op COURAGE in England, are signposted and promoted. We will continue to encourage staff to code patients that identify as a member of the Armed Forces Community.

2.2 We will publicise these commitments through our literature and/or on our website, setting out how we will seek to honour them and inviting feedback from the Service community and our customers on how we are doing.