You are here : The Federation / Our Quarterly Update / August 2010

August 2010

Team Changes

It is with great regret that we advise of Chris Taylor’s decision to retire from the Federation’s employ with effect from 13 Aug 10.  The team has sent Chris on his way with our very best wishes for the future and with grateful thanks for everything he has done in supporting the Federation since its very early days.  

The departure of Chris presented the Federation with an opportunity to restructure the team to better match tasks to resources and a comprehensive case has been submitted at no extra cost.  Our part-time staffs are working extra hours to help plug the gap and recruitment of a replacement team member has begun; we hope to have our new Evidence Assistant (Housing) in post in the New Year.

High Level Activity

Strategic Defence and Security Review

Like everyone else, we await developments on this front and have been careful not to set hares running by responding to various media enquiries for our views on how the SDSR might impact on the RAF.  We have expressed our wish to contribute to the SDSR Communications Strategy in order to ensure that any information we pass to family members is accurate.

Service Personnel Command Paper

We were pleased to learn that the new Administration is keen to continue the work of the External Reference Group (ERG) tasked with monitoring implementation of the SPCP.  The meeting in Jul 10 confirmed the current status of SPCP commitments and outlined plans for the development of an Armed Forces Covenant (detailed below).  A further ERG meeting took place in mid September which focussed on the emerging Covenant.  We have since been invited to comment on the draft 2nd Annual Report and the way ahead for outstanding commitments.  We will be monitoring, too, how the recommendations arising from the work of the Service Families Employment & Skills Task Force are incorporated into the SPCP framework to ensure that these do not slip through the net.

The Armed Forces Covenant

The three Service Families Federations were invited to brief the Chair of the Task Force established by the Government to inform the development of an Armed Forces Covenant.  We were able to bring a wide range of family-related issues to the table and were pleased to see that the needs of families have been reflected in the draft new Covenant.  It was reassuring to note that our Evidence and Annual Reports from 2009 were also quoted as source material.  We understand the Covenant will be published alongside the report on the Strategic Defence & Security Review in Oct 10.

Visit by AMP

We were delighted to host a visit from the then AMP in mid June and took the opportunity to update him on our workshop programme.  AMP reaffirmed the value he places on the independent evidence provided by the Federation and encouraged us to continue our liaison with key staffs at Air Comd so that family-related evidence could be correlated with evidence arising from other sources.  We wish AM Bryant every success in his next appointment and look forward to meeting with the new AMP, AM Pulford, in due course.

SSAFA in Service Volunteers Conference and RAF SSAFA-FH 20th Anniversary Event   

The Chairman attended the In-Service Volunteers Conference and welcomed the opportunity to meet with a cross-section of SSAFA staffs, many of whom contribute to the welfare of RAF families.  The theme of the Conference, Mental Health, produced some very thought-provoking presentations and raised, again, the issue of mental health of the wider family.  On a related SSAFA theme, the Chairman also attended the 20th Anniversary event for the RAF’s SSAFA-FH Personnel Support & Social Work Service and took the opportunity to reinforce the strong links between the Federation and SSAFA staffs at unit level.

Evidence Workshop with the RAF Senior Leadership Team

Following a successful series of workshops at Chief of the Air Staffs' Conference of Warrant Officers, the Chairman persuaded CAS to allow Federation access to the Senior Leadership Team, comprising all RAF 2*s and above.  In mid July 10, an interactive workshop was conducted with 24 members of the SLT and we welcomed the opportunity to add the views of some of the RAF’s most senior influencers to our database.  Moreover, it provided the SLT with a valuable insight into the work of the Federation and our efforts to gather independent evidence on a wide range of family-related issues.

Visit by ACOS A1

Having attended our workshop at the Reservists’ Annual Conference, ACOS A1 (Assistant Chief of Staff) expressed an interest in hearing more about our work and we were delighted to host him at our offices in August 10.   We are always pleased to host visits from personnel wishing to learn about our work on behalf of RAF families so if anyone reading this has yet to visit, the door is open and the kettle is on!

Armed Forces Pay Review Body

Recent staff effort has been focussed on providing our annual evidence for the AFPRB.  A comprehensive paper will be submitted in preparation for our oral evidence session in early December (postponed from October) and copies will be provided to key RAF staff for information.  We also intend to feature this evidence in the next edition of Envoy.

Meeting with DCDS (PERS & TRG)

A constructive first meeting with the recently-appointed DCDS (Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff, Personnel & Training), General Rollo, took place in early September 10 and we look forward to working with him and his staff as the results of the SDSR begin to cascade down to the personnel policy staffs.

Evidence Arising from the Issues Database

During this period we have been contacted by 123 families who raised 153 separate issues with the Federation. Yet again, we have been able to identify a number of families who have returned to the Federation to report additional or new issues or concerns to us.

We were also contacted by 48 other families who requested information, which has been classified as ‘signposting’ i.e. they have been given details of other agencies who can assist them with their enquiries. Their information was recorded on our separate database as there are limited personal details available and many of their requests were outside of our usual remit e.g. request for advice about support to veterans and their families.

HOUSING

Housing Applications – Summer Surge: As we anticipated, we saw an increase in the number of families contacting us because they had concerns about their applications for Service Family Accommodation (SFA).  In particular, we dealt with a number of families who had been posted at short notice following the completion of training courses and had been advised by Defence Estates Housing Information Centre (DE HIC) staff that their SFA might not be available on their requested Move-In date.  We are aware that over this period DE were dealing with their annual ‘summer surge’ but were faced with the additional problem of reduced manning due to the current recruitment freeze in place. Therefore we advised families to be patient, the team maintained regular contact with the DE HIC staffs to ensure that we were aware of any particular problem areas and were then able to feed this information back to families. In the majority of cases, the families were eventually allocated SFA in time for their required move in dates. This was a good example of how the RAF FF and DE can work together to ensure the best outcome for families.

Adaptations to SFA – Managing Expectations and Providing Information: We continue to receive evidence from families who are concerned about the time taken to approve/complete adaptations to SFA to meet the requirements of family members with disabilities or additional needs. It is apparent that there is a real need to manage the expectations of families with regards to the whole process for adaptations to SFA and we would encourage both DE and MHS to work together to perhaps produce a written guide that could then be made available via a range of sources eg various websites, HIVE offices, Personnel Management Squadron offices. This would ensure that that families have access to the relevant information from the outset, particularly as many of the comments we receive are along the lines of ‘if they had told us that it could take six months to complete the process, at least we would have been able to plan accordingly’. The RAF Families Federation would be happy to recommence their work with the Housing agencies to produce such a guide.

Substitute Service Family Accommodation: During this period we have also seen an increase in the number of Substitute Service Family Accommodation (SSFA) properties being allocated across the UK. Many of the cases we dealt with involved problems with the time taken to allocate SSFA once it had been confirmed that there was no SFA available. The RAF FF is aware that DE staffs do try and take personal circumstances into account whenever possible, but with a diminishing number of available properties and with many HICs running at below their usual manning levels, the teams do not always have the capacity to meet the needs of every family. That said, it is our responsibility to ensure that the plight of families  is highlighted and that MoD staffs consider their situations when developing allocations policies or determining manning levels within busy housing offices.

Regional Concerns with SFA: The team continue to receive concerns about the housing situation for those personnel and their families posted to MoD Abbeywood and we recently held a number of interactive workshops on the unit during which we were able to gauge opinion about the problems. Concerns were particularly expressed by the non-commissioned cadre who are finding themselves allocated houses in Hullavington or Corsham as the PFI estates are being filled with commissioned families.  Some of the Army patches have very limited community support facilities and poor public transport, leaving partners very isolated.  We have also received evidence of significant problems with the SFA at RAF Benson, primarily with the condition and size of the properties.  Again, this was supported by opinions expressed during our recent workshops on the unit and we will ensure that the audience feedback is included within the Annual Report.

DE Formal Complaints Process: As we recorded in our last Quarterly Report, we continue to receive evidence from families who are frustrated about the responses they receive when they submit a formal written complaint to DE. We have been highlighting their frustrations to the relevant staff within DE and have requested that perhaps they need to reword the complaints process guidelines so that families are aware of the limitations of the system. Again, we believe that people have expectations of the process which can never be achieved by DE and these expectations need to be managed more effectively.

Entitlement to SFA: The RAF FF received evidence from a range of families who are frustrated about the current policies which regulate their entitlement to SFA. The number of divorced parents who approach us as they are not able to provide a home for their children increases, particularly where divorced fathers have previously been able to occupy surplus SFA but are now being asked to leave due to the pressures on SFA.  Messes and Barrack Blocks designed for multiple adult occupancy are no place for young children yet we are hearing of many divorced Dads having no option but to accommodate their young children in their bedrooms in order to maintain some degree of parental contact.  We have also dealt with families who want to challenge the policy regarding the retention of SFA for academic reasons – in their cases, this is because it is the non-serving spouse who is mid-way through a higher-education course rather than their dependent children in a key stage of education.

Charges for repairing SFA:  During this period we highlighted a case in our monthly RAF News article about a licencee who was furious about the cost of the charges for repairs to his SFA which had been identified during his Move-Out appointment.  Part of his frustration lay in the fact that there appeared to be no transparency to the system – he was not able to find any information about the range of charges in the regulations or on the DE website – nor did he feel able to effectively challenge the process.  We have approached DE and asked them to respond to a range of questions about the process as our intention is to include this information in an article for ‘Envoy’ and our website so that all licencees have a clearer understanding of this particular aspect of occupying SFA.  To date, we are still awaiting a formal response from DE but we will continue to pursue this.

PERSONNEL ISSUES

Deployed Families Welfare Package:  The RAF FF has received evidence from lone parents regarding their frustrations with the limitations imposed on the Deployed Families Welfare Package. We highlighted one particular case, of a lone serving parent who wanted to transfer the benefits e.g. travel warrants, to her own mother as the grandmother was assuming parental responsibility for the child whilst the serving person was deployed. Having looked into the relevant regulations however, she was told that she was ineligible as she did not have a spouse and the system was unable to recognise her mother as the primary carer for the child.  We challenged this interpretation of the regulations with the policy staffs and they confirmed that the wording of the JSP could be clearer and that lone parents are entitled to transfer the benefits. A successful outcome for lone parents and for the Federation!

Support to families dealing with post-operational stress:  The RAF FF was concerned to receive a phone call from the parent of a serving member of the RAF who was extremely anxious about his son, who had recently returned from an operational deployment.  The parent was worried that his son was not getting the support he needed and was not handling the situation well – to the extent that he was threatening to return home to his parents and leave the Service.  We were able to guide the family towards the support organisations available, such as the Padre, SSAFA and the Welfare Staffs on the unit, but the case again highlighted that many families live some distance from military establishments and have no access to information about the support systems in place. The RAF FF firmly believes that the MoD and RAF needs to do more to support these families and to communicate with them during every stage of a deployment – pre, during and post.   Interestingly, a recent workshop with a Reservist Squadron sparked a very productive debate on the welfare support available to Reservist families, many of whom live many miles away from the duty unit.  We hope to facilitate further work on this issue with the relevant Community Support and Reservist policy staffs as it reads across to Regular family support.

Recognition of Families:  Whilst the RAF FF was pleased to learn of recent changes to the postings policy, such as enhanced priority for those seeking co-location, we continue to receive evidence from unmarried couples who believe that their home life is being negatively impacted because the current policies do not recognise them as a family, even if they have children together.  A case in point was a co-serving couple, who have a young child, but also have deployment commitments which they are both keen and ready to fulfil. The couple tried to work with their relevant manning staffs to organise their deployments so that they could arrange suitable childcare and but were told that as they were not married, they were not entitled to ‘family time’ as their partner was not recognised by the system.  We believe that this lack of recognition will become a retention issue for many families at some stage in the future.

We also received the following comment from a twice-divorced serving father who has custody of his children. He acknowledges that the breakdown of his marriages were to a great extent because he put the Service first. He has now been in a relationship with a new partner of four years. He says: “Under current regulations I can have a quarter but I am not allowed to cohabit. I am not unique. The Services has asked more and more of Service personnel. It seems to me that my life style has changed and been affected well beyond the scope of my career, and I am disappointed that the Service does not recognise that my situation is an addition to the pattern of families that might be found in the RAF. My number One priority and preoccupation is the welfare of my children, but surely I should be allowed an adult relationship without the Service demanding to throw me back into marriage. I am not an immoral person seeking to get shacked-up or claim fringe benefits I have no right to. I see the lack of recognition given to my family as seriously disadvantaging me”.

OTHER KEY ISSUES

SPCP casework: As part of our SPCP External Reference Group work during this period we have challenged the MoD to consider the commitment it made to non-serving spouses who are employed within the Public Sector. The commitment made in the SPCP stated that government departments would make it easier for spouses to move within the Public Sector if their serving partners were posted around the UK. However, the policy regarding the allocation of SFA has not been amended to reflect this – we recently learned of a family who were placed in a very difficult position as the non-serving spouse, who is a teacher, had been able to secure employment at a new school in the area where her uniformed partner was due to be posted. However, because the posting was not due to occur until the serving member returned from his deployment, some two months later, DE were unable to allocate SFA in their new location in time for the start of the new school term.  The family therefore incurred significant extra expense to enable the wife to take up her public sector employment on time, whilst also paying for an empty SFA in an area where there is a known shortage of properties.  During the current recession, and with the problems that families face gaining employment upon posting, it seems somewhat ironic that the MoD is unable to fulfil its commitment and has failed to remove existing policy hurdles in the way of this family. We are currently liaising with the HQ Air Command Community Support team and the relevant policy staffs within the MoD on this particular issue and will continue to campaign for the Tri-Service Accommodation Regulations to be amended accordingly.      

Childcare costs: The cost and provision of childcare has been highlighted to us again during this reporting period. Many of the frustrations stem from the fact that families believe that, because of the remote location of many RAF stations, they are effectively forced to use the childcare facilities on or next to the stations and as a result the childcare providers are able to charge higher prices. Concerns have also been raised about the flexibility of the operating hours of these facilities, with families telling us that they are struggling to meet their shift requirements because of the opening/closing times of the childcare centres and the rigid rules in place in many childcare centres eg having to pay full price to retain a place even if the child is not there because of holidays or illness.

We have gathered supporting evidence of these concerns from many of our interactive workshops and will ensure that the comments made by our audiences are included in the Annual Report. That said, it should be noted that we received a large number of complaints about the charges being made by the childcare facility at RAF Benson during our recent workshops there.  All of the audience members who commented stated that, whilst the facility and staff were wonderful, the charges were ‘extortionate’ and the Federation was asked to elevate their concerns as quickly as possible to ‘whoever needs to know so that it can be investigated as families feel that they are being penalised for being part of the RAF and posted to the Unit’.  An indication of the strength of feeling on the station is that one of our voters suggested that ‘they all refuse to pay the charges until they were more reasonable as the company couldn’t take them all to court could they?’  

QUICK VOTES ON THE WEBSITE

Quick Votes on the home page of the Federation website seek to engage RAF personnel and their family members on issues that come to our attention.  They may be ‘matters of the moment’ or areas of interest we wish to pursue or explore further.  We recognise that this method of data capture is terribly unscientific and we cannot guarantee the quality of the response.  The respondents may have nothing at all to do with the RAF or may be mischievously sitting in front of the computer with their finger on the button.  We do not therefore hold too much store by the results.  

It does, however, give a feel for a subject and may also prompt our target audience to engage more fully with us on one level or another.  It is also thought that our site, and particularly the Quick Vote, would be of little interest to those whom it does not affect or concern and that they would therefore not take part in, or indeed, come to our site in the first place.

Please find below the results to some of the more interesting questions we have posed:

If on a pensionable engagement, would less generous pension terms cause you to consider leaving the RAF?

Yes: 175    No: 30   Total: 205

As a Serviceperson living in SFA, have you ever had to take leave to wait at home for a contractor?

If so, please answer 'yes' and click on the brown ‘Have your Say’ block and let us know how much leave you have lost this way in the last 12 months.
Yes: 104   No:17   Total: 121

Do UK Service families need something similar to the American 'Sesame Street' initiative to help youngsters through periods of a parent's deployment?

See 'Family Support' story under 'News'.
Yes: 65   No: 62    Total: 127

Were you happy with the (2010) 2% pay rise?

Yes: 193   No: 82   Total: 275

If electronic voting was available for military families to participate in elections on-line, would you use it?      

Yes:   354     No: 72    Total:  426      

Does the RAF provide a good work/life balance?

If the answer is 'NO' why not tell us why (!) Click the 'Have your Say' block above...     
Yes: 17    No:107   Total: 124     

As a member of a RAF family, do you have a registration in place so you can vote in the General Election (when it is called!)     

Yes:  91   No:17   Total: 108

In general, do you think the RAF offers a good level of support to families?

Yes:  76    No: 104     Total: 180     

Life as a RAF family has had a negative impact on the career of the non-serving partner.

Yes:  167    No: 32    Total: 199     

Are you having trouble finding a NHS dentist in your local area?

(If you are, please email your postcode/location to: enquiries@raf-ff.org.uk)     
Yes: 73    No: 81    Total: 154     
Unfortunately, none of the 73 saying they were having problems provided postcodes for follow-up action.

Top of Page