This page is intended to bring together useful information from across Ipswich Borough Council for Members of the Armed Forces and Veterans.
Guaranteed Interview Scheme
The Council has a guaranteed interview scheme for members of the armed forces and veterans. This means that if a member of the armed forces or veteran applies for a job, ticks the box to say that they are a member of the armed forces or a veteran, and meets all of the essential requirements of the person specification, they will get an interview.
Sports Centres
The Council has a Military iCard which helps serving members of the Armed Forces to keep themselves in peak physical condition. The Military iCard allows all day access to gyms at Ipswich Borough Council Sports Centres from Monday – Friday, except at Crown Pools where access to the gym is limited to 9am-5pm, Monday to Friday. Please note that this offer is only for serving members of the Armed Forces; depending on their circumstances, Veterans may be eligible for a concession price. You can find out more at www.ipswichfit.co.uk or by visiting one of our Sports Centres.
Housing
The Council has a dedicated webpage for ex-forces personnel who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. Please see the information provided on this page.
Useful Council Tax and Benefits Information
Housing Benefit and Local Council Tax Support
War Disablement Pension, War Widow’s Pension or War Widower’s Pension will not be taken into account when calculating income for Housing Benefit and Local Council Tax Support.
Discretionary Housing Payments
In special circumstances, we can make a discretionary housing payment to give extra help with rent. If the amount you are awarded is not enough to meet your rent, you can apply for a discretionary housing payment. We treat every claim individually.
For more information about Discretionary Housing Payments please see this page.
Council Tax
If you are a member of the armed forces and you and your family have to temporarily move out of your main home to take up residence in accommodation provided by the MOD, you may be eligible for a 50% job-related discount.
Service personnel who live in a privately owned or rented home can claim Council Tax Relief (CTR, not to be confused with the Council Tax Reduction Scheme) whilst on certain deployments abroad. This scheme is funded and administered by the Ministry of Defence, not the council. CTR is paid to service personnel who pay Council Tax while they are in the UK. CTR is paid for each day that the eligible service personnel is in the location (deployed overseas) where the relief has been declared as payable, and includes days out of theatre on Rest and Recuperation. It stops being paid the day after they leave the area.
Local Voluntary / Third Sector Support
Other Useful Sites