The Portfolio Holder for Customer and Localities, Councillor Michael Bannister, approved Warwickshire County Council's participation in a consortium bid for the VALOUR programme, aimed at supporting the Armed Forces community. This decision was made under urgency due to the impending bid deadline.

Approval to Join Consortium VALOUR Bid

Councillor Michael Bannister, Portfolio Holder for Customer and Localities, approved Warwickshire County Council's participation in a consortium bid for the VALOUR programme. The bid is being developed with the Veterans Contact Point (VCP) charity and aims to secure government funding for VALOUR support and services across Coventry, Solihull, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, and Shropshire. The decision also includes support for the VCP in implementing any successful bid.

The decision was deemed urgent because the deadline for submitting bids for VALOUR funding was 14 January 2026. Given the time required to formulate the bid and the consortium approach, coupled with the Christmas and New Year period, it was not possible to follow the standard procedure for publishing reports, making the decision, and allowing for the call-in period before the submission deadline. Failure to support the bid would have prejudiced the interests of the Council as the lead Local Authority for the Coventry, Solihull and Warwickshire Armed Forces Covenant Partnership (CSW AFCP) and would have prevented veterans in Warwickshire from fully benefiting from the support available.

The VALOUR programme is a new national initiative led by the Office for Veterans' Affairs (OVA) within the Ministry of Defence, designed to improve the coordination of care and support for veterans. The government has announced £27 million in funding over three years for place-based VALOUR Recognised Centres (VRCs), with an expected £750,000 per VRC per annum. The bid process is highly competitive, and it is anticipated that only one VRC will be funded in the West Midlands region.

The Council's involvement is seen as a crucial step in supporting the Armed Forces community and fulfilling its commitments under the Armed Forces Covenant and the forthcoming Covenant Duty, which will be strengthened by the Armed Forces Bill expected to become law in 2026. The Council is recognised as an exemplar in the Armed Forces Covenant arena due to its leadership of the CSW AFCP and its development of an e-learning programme shared nationwide.

The Council will not be the recipient of any funding through the VALOUR bid and is not expected to contribute additional funding. However, the Council provides the VCP building in Nuneaton at a peppercorn rent and has a 20-year lease agreement with the VCP charity. There may be a need to support the VCP in developing a VALOUR Partnership Agreement or Memorandum of Understanding, but any associated costs are expected to be met from existing budgets within Community Partnerships.

The consortium bidding for the VALOUR funding includes a wide range of organisations, such as local authorities, NHS Trusts, voluntary, community, and social enterprise sector organisations, and private enterprises. A full list of confirmed and potential consortium members is available in the document Appendix 1 for Approval to join consortium VALOUR bid.