F e a t u r e s
Command Paper “The Nation’s Commitment – Cross-Government Support to our Armed Forces, their Families and Veterans”
R
eaders of earlier editions of Envoy will be aware that the RAF Families Federation had
been contributing to a high level, cross-Government study into the support provided to the Armed Forces, their families and veterans. Dawn McCafferty, RAF FF Chairman, reports:
Some described this work as a ‘once in a generation opportunity’ for the MOD to influence other Government Departments’ support to the military constituency and we certainly found the Study an interesting debate on the status of the Armed Forces within the UK. As you would expect, we focussed our efforts on trying to ensure that the Study Team and the Ministers themselves understood the key issues impacting on RAF families. Our main aim was to ensure that the RAF lifestyle was properly represented to those Departments external to the MOD who have such a significant impact on RAF personnel and the way we all live our lives.
The Paper is now in the public domain. Anyone wishing to read the entire document is invited to visit our website where the link is provided. We would welcome your views on this Paper
and will provide undiluted feedback to the Ministers, good, bad or indifferent.
The Chief of the Air Staff’s immediate response to the Paper was:
“The commitments we have secured from across Government are not ‘special’ treatment simply because we are in the military, but are a fair return for the sacrifices that our people willingly make and the risks they take on behalf of the nation. I am delighted that other Government departments have recognised the specific needs of the Service community; their commitments go a long way to address existing inequalities. Equally importantly, the Paper also puts into place the mechanisms to ensure that any developing areas of disadvantage are tackled quickly and effectively.”
What follows is a summary of the key areas of the Paper and, most importantly, an explanation as to how the work will now be taken forward to ensure this doesn’t just get filed in the ‘too difficult drawer’. You can rest assured that the RAF Families Federation Chairman will do her best to keep the pressure on the Government to deliver on its promises.
The Enduring Principles
The Study Team identified the following as the starting point from which all Government Departments should view their support to the Armed Forces:
“Government has a moral obligation, on behalf of the nation, to honour its responsibility towards its Armed Forces. The essential starting point is that those who serve must not be disadvantaged by virtue of what they do – and this will sometimes call for degrees of special treatment”.
The following enduring principles were agreed:
14 Autumn 2008
As Much Lifestyle Choice As Any Other Citizen. Despite the unique demands of their profession, Service people and their families should be able to manage their lives as effortlessly as anyone else. Serving the nation must not be a barrier to routine life events such as getting a mortgage, opening a bank account, finding a dentist, accessing benefits, applying for social housing, or applying for residency or citizenship for oneself or one’s dependants. And since most serve for well over a decade, their needs and the demands of the Service will change whilst their uniform is worn – such people must be offered real and sustainable choices to achieve their own balance between the demands of military life, personal development, Service mobility and family stability.
Continuity of Public Services. Service personnel and their families are obliged to move home much more frequently than most – often they have no choice of where or when. This risks disadvantaging them in relation to others – for example in allocation of school places, or provision for special educational needs for their children, and in access to benefits and core NHS services. And this may happen repeatedly. This is not just. Service personnel and their families must receive continuity of public services wherever they are based and whenever they are obliged to move.
Proper Return for Sacrifice. Servicemen and women accept conditions that impose limitations on how they live their lives, and they can suffer terrible physical and mental injury – since 2001, in the course of operations and training exercises, over 2,000 people have been seriously injured or wounded and over 350 killed, 285 Service personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan. Service personnel will receive the treatment and welfare support they need for as long as they require it. And that need often extends through life and is equally applicable to families.
www.raf-families-federation.org.uk The Service Personnel
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