F e d e r a t i o n N e w s CHILD’S PLAY
“It would not have been possible without the generous support from Annington Trust, Sodexo, Salisbury Diocese and the RAF Families Federation“
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AF Lyneham families welcomed a new children’s play area at the Station
HIVE. Te area was officially opened by the Station Commander, Group Captain Mike Neville, and Ryan Hargreaves, who won the competition to name the new play equipment ‘Hercules Challenge’. Station personnel and their families were invited to attend the opening party where children were first on the new play equipment.
The Project Officer, Officer Commanding Personnel Services Flight, Flight Lieutenant Claire Adamson said: “Lyneham has a very busy operational tempo, heightened by the task of managing the repatriation of fallen Service personnel. These factors combined with the normal stresses of Service life mean that families are under a significant amount of pressure. The HIVE offers a friendly place for families to get together, receive support and allows the children to play in a safe environment.
“Because Lyneham does not have a Community Centre, the HIVE is the main focal point for parents and their children. The HIVE Information Officers said: ‘’We are extremely pleased with our new play frame, it will make a significant difference to families.”
ACTIVITIES UPDATE Where is the Federation to-Date?
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elieve it or not the RAF Families Federation has been going over a year.
We thought it would be useful to give a resumé of activities so you can see what we get up to on your behalf.
The Service Command Paper – What Next? Readers will recall that we reported on the publication of the Government’s Service Personnel Command Paper in July and indicated that the RAF FF would be involved in future work. Following a lull in activity over the summer period, the MOD and Government Ministers are now taking work forward and Terms of Reference have been drafted to guide the work of 2 groups tasked with monitoring implementation of the many recommendations contained within the Paper.
The first will be an Officials Group, chaired by the Cabinet Office and will be attended by representatives from Government departments whose work has a direct impact on the lives of Service personnel, their families and veterans. The RAF FF Chairman will be a member of this Group in order to represent the views of RAF families.
The second Group will be a Ministerial Group of only 12 members and this will be chaired by the Minister for the Armed Forces. The RAF FF Chairman will also be a member of this group and welcomes the opportunity to meet with the Minister at least 3 times a year to discuss progress and to provide evidence where more work still needs to be done. Feedback on meetings in November will be provided in due course. Of note, progress has already been made in nominating Armed Forces Advocates in the Other Government Departments, whose role will be to monitor activities within their area of responsibility to ensure that the needs of the Armed Forces, their families and veterans are paid due attention.
RAF FF Activities OK, OK, so what have we been doing these last months that might be of interest to Serving personnel and their families? Just as importantly, what do we do to convince AMP that we are fulfilling the requirements of our contract with the RAF and to justify his continuing investment in a Families Federation?
Group Captain Mike Neville and competition winner, Ryan Hargreaves cut the ribbon to mark the official opening of the play area
18 Winter 2008
The list below provides just an extract from the team diary and we hope it shows that we are constantly on the go, attending meetings to represent your views, receiving updates on family-related and personnel policies, running surveys to gather the evidence required
www.raf-families-federation.org.uk
to influence the policy-makers and, most importantly, meeting you during liaison visits.
July 2008: 1 July – 8 Aug Remuneration Survey to inform report to Armed Forces Pay Review Body
1 Meeting with Deputy Director of Legal Services (RAF) for update on legal issues.
2 Attendance at Chief of Staff (Operations) Management Board, HQ Air Command.
2 Meetings with Head of Community Development Workers and Editor of the RAF News.
4 Staff training visit to RAF Community Support staff and High Wycombe HIC.
8 Tri-Service Welfare Conference, London. 9 Unit Liaison Visit, RAF Boulmer. 10 Senior Execs Partners’ Course, Shrivenham.
10 Staff visit to SSAFA ‘Stepping Stones’ Open Day.
15 AMP Briefing Team Debrief on last season.
16 Presentation to Community Support Course.
16 Meeting with USofS and Chief Exec Defence Estates
22 Unit Liaison Visit, MOD Boscombe Down. 23 Families Day, RAF Odiham 23 Office call on Service Complaints Commissioner.
23 Family Working Group, MOD. 25 RAF Cottesmore Open Day. 30 Families Day, RAF Honington.
We keep ourselves pretty busy on your behalf and it’s safe to say, we never get bored! The diary for the next few months looks just as interesting and we look forward to learning more about the policies that impact on RAF family life. Moreover, we look forward to hearing from you as to what you would like us to say at some of these top-level meetings. We are, after all, your voice, so please speak up and let us know what you want us to say.
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