A COUNCIL has joined a scheme to honour the commitment made by people leaving the armed forces when they apply for social housing.

Durham County Council has promised to recognise ex-service personnel by following a seven point charter drawn up by the Gentoo group.

So far, 14 housing associations and councils across the country have signed up to the seven-point pledge which includes giving priority to returning service personnel and re-examining their working practices to favour veterans when allocating housing.

Gentoo is a Sunderland-based provider of 30,000 homes to over 70,000 customers. The pledge came from Peter Walls, the group’s chief executive in his role as HRH The Prince of Wales’ Ambassador for Responsible Business in the North-East. Prince Charles recently asked the ambassadors to do whatever they could to improve services for the armed forces.

So far, Sunderland City, Durham Borough and Middlesbrough County Councils along with Stockton-based North Star Housing group have signed up to the charter.

The pledge also commits housing providers to each nominate a designated ‘service champion’ who will develop innovative ways of helping returning veterans. Organisations taking part will also ensure housing provision is consistent across the country, tailor the pledge to the needs of ex-servicemen and women in their communities and provide an enhanced support package over and above what is already provided.

Gordon Elliott, Durham County Council’s head of partnership and community engagement, said: “Along with our colleagues in the County Durham Partnership, we signed a covenant in 2012 to support members of the Armed Forces Community.

“As part of this we updated our housing policy to specifically include ex-military personnel to ensure they would never be at a disadvantage when looking for social housing in County Durham.”