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NAVY NEWS, SEPTEMBER 2011


Delay in housing upgrades


THE NFF is highlighting a ‘Pause’ in SFA upgrade and SLA modernisation


programmes. Significant progress in improving Service accommodation has been made in recent years, writes Jane Williams, Deputy Chair of the NFF. Despite the current financial challenges, the MOD


will continue to target efforts on the most pressing accommodation issues, including major upgrades and new build projects. However, as part of the Department’s work


to reduce the funding gap and balance Defence priorities, from April 2013 there will be a three-year pause in the programme to upgrade lower quality SFA homes. Some Single Living Accommodation upgrade programmes will also be put on hold. The MOD will continue to fund routine and response maintenance and minor new works. The future requirement of accommodation for the


Armed Forces returning from Germany, and other rebasing plans, will not be affected. The NFF comment is below: “The NFF alongside the two other Family Federations were asked to attend a meeting ahead of the announced pause in SFA upgrades and SLA modernisation program. “The meeting was initiated by Andrew Robathan


MP, Minister for Defence Welfare Personnel and Veterans who wanted to tell the Federations personally what was going on in advance of any announcements. “He also wanted to give the Federations an opportunity to ask questions, which we did. “We asked that assistance with affordable house purchase should be kept firmly on MOD’s radar. We also sought assurance that if there was any money available then an equal division of funding across the SFA estate and the three services should be considered. “We queried at what point repeat repairs should become replacement work which would ultimately prove to be a more cost effective and sensible route. “The NFF concern is that this is yet another piece


of bad news on top of other bad news for Serving personnel and their families. “The meeting was not a consultation, decisions


had already been made. It appears that none of us, including DIO, have a choice in this. “Interestingly the recent NFF Housing Survey highlighted that 20 per cent of respondents (the highest response in the category question; what do you like least about living in SFA/SSFA?) stated that the condition of the accommodation was the worst aspect of living in SFA. “We will watch with interest what proposals are


made for 2016 onwards. By then other areas of work looking at how we work and live will have delivered their initial findings. “What shape will accommodation take in the


future? “Oh for a crystal ball or Marty McFly’s Back to the


Future time machine...” Please keep reporting defects, following up any


repairs and maintenance issues and feeding your experiences back to the NFF. As your conduit, these issues will go directly to the service providers and decision makers. Please contact Jane Williams on jane.williams@nff.


org.uk with your comments; and visit www.nff.org. uk for full details on these announcements.


 Tickets for Troops – Win Olympics and Apollo Cinema Tickets All serving members of HM Forces, and all those


medically discharged from the Forces since the commencement of military action in Afghanistan in 2001, are eligible to register for tickets to see sport, music, theatre or comedy events with Tickets for Troops. Tickets for Troops has recently announced a new


partnership with Apollo Cinemas to offer Servicemen and women the opportunity to see a film, for free, every week at all 14 UK Apollo Cinemas. Go to www.ticketsfortroops.org.uk and click on


the ‘What’s On’ tab for full details. There is also a chance for members of the Armed


Forces to attend the Olympic and Paralympic Games next summer, free of charge. Registration for the Olympic Games tickets must be made by November 1 2011. Simply go to the website and click ‘Register’, enter


your details and you’ll have access to the list of tickets available.


Depending on popularity, tickets are allocated on


either a First Come, First Served basis or entered into a ballot where your name will be randomly selected. You may or not be aware that each registrant is


eligible to win one ballot every two years. Please make sure you choose your events wisely. For full details of forthcoming events, eligibility and regulations visit www.ticketsfortroops.org.uk


 Changes to Car Insurance Rules From June 2011 car insurance rules changed


which means that if you’ve got an uninsured vehicle you are breaking the law, whether you drive it or not, unless you have a Statutory Off-Road Notice (SORN). Cars, motorbikes and motor homes must now be continually insured. Even if you let cover lapse during holidays, hospital stays or deployments, you’ll be breaking the law. There’s a £100 fine followed by clamping, seizure


or your vehicle being destroyed, though warning letters come first. The new Continuous Insurance Enforcement


scheme makes it an offence to keep an active, uninsured vehicle. Under the previous law, you only needed insurance if you were driving. The aim of the new rule is to cut down on the


number of uninsured vehicles that currently stands at 1.4 million. It’ll allow the Government to use databases to


match-up owners with insured vehicles. If you are due to be away on deployment when your car insurance is due, you must plan your car


insurance renewal before you go away. If your vehicle is off road and will not be used


during your deployment then arrange a SORN through the DVLA (Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency). Information including road tax renewal and SORN


declaration is available via www.taxdisc.gov.uk If you are living on an SFA patch and un-taxed


vehicles are being left in your area, please get in touch with the NFF.


 Voting Service personnel and overseas voters are to


benefit from an extension to election timetable. The Family Federations have been actively


involved in discussions with Ministry of Justice regarding the difficult issue of Overseas Voting, we are therefore pleased to see that Service personnel and their families posted overseas will be given more time to return their ballot papers under Government proposals to extend the electoral timetable. The electoral timetable for UK Parliamentary elections will be extended to 25 days ahead of the poll, eight days earlier than under the current system, providing extra time for postal votes to be sent and returned. Under the existing system, postal votes


cannot be issued to registered electors until at least 11 working days before the poll. The time taken to issue the postal


votes shortens this window even further and means that voters, particularly those overseas, are left with a small timeframe within which to return their ballot paper. The new provisions will mean that the


printing and issue of postal votes can begin 19 working days before the poll, providing a significant increase in the time electors have to receive, complete and return their postal vote. The provisions are published in draft


legislation to be implemented in time for the next General Election, expected in 2015. Please keep an eye out for future information via www.NFF.org.uk and Navy News.


 Homeport The autumn 2011 issue of Homeport


is hot off the press... Pick up a free copy wherever you see it or contact editor@NFF. org.uk to arrange for your quarterly copy delivered free of charge to your address.


 UK4U Thanks Each year British Forces Post Offices (BFPO) receive many generous gifts and donations to send out to Armed Forces personnel serving away from home over the Christmas period. The gesture is wonderful but it brings


up a problem, BFPO cannot forward these parcels unless they are specifically addressed to a named individual. Help is at hand however, and the charity


UK4U Thanks together with the support of business partners deliver a pre-packed Christmas goodie box to every member of the Armed Forces who is deployed over the Christmas period. The parcel contents are carefully picked and


packed to give all the recipients a taste of home and some excellent Christmas ‘gizzets’ wherever they are serving. If readers of Navy News are thinking that they


may wish to make a donation then this will be most welcome, and be reassured that MOD have approved all the deliveries. For further information please go to www. UK4UThanks.co.uk Your experiences form the basis of all our discussions. Please keep your comments coming. To contact the NFF: tel: 02392 654374 e-mail admin@nff.org.uk or write to us at Castaway House, 311 Twyford Avenue, Portsmouth PO2 8RN.


Your Questions MEET THE CAKE LADY NFF Visit Scotland


THE POSSIBILITIES of bringing together Initial Naval Training to one site and the development of a Royal Marine hub in the south- west are under consideration by the RN. The Second Sea Lord, Vice


Moves afoot for Naval estate


Admiral Charles Montgomery, has written to Naval personnel to advise them of possible changes in the spread of the maritime estate across the UK. The announcement by the


Ministry of Defence in July focused primarily on the future basing of the Army and RAF, particularly in light of the drawback from Germany – however there are implications for the Naval service. The Maritime Estate


showed significantly higher cost than the other options. The move of 45 Commando


Royal Marines to the south-west of England.  The co-location of other RM activities in the Devonport area.  Rationalisation of elements


of the Reserve estate. Since the announcement in


Parliament by the Secretary of State, work on the maritime estate is against the context of a re-based Army concentrated into five multi-role brigades – one of which will be in Scotland. The detailed planning of any


Rationalisation Programme (MERP) is considering a number of possible options for the future:  Bringing together Initial


Naval Training at either of the existing locations – Raleigh or Dartmouth – or an alternative brown-field site. There has even been consideration of locations in the Portsmouth area but these


ADVICE about speaking to the media has been issued once again in DIN 2011 DIN 03-25: Contact with the media and communicating in public. It provides a reminder about


moves by each of the Armed Forces will come into effect once the Basing Optimisation Plan is agreed in December 2011. All relocations will take into account the need to support the New Employment Model, promoting longer-term stability for military personnel and their families. For further information see


Galaxy 27-2011: Maritime Estate Rationalisation and DIB 2011/65.


Careless talk sells newspapers


the advice and support offered by the Navy’s Communication teams, along with contact numbers, the lines of authority before speaking to journalists, and advice about social media online.


flow of engineers takes flight Engineering the


RESIDING in room 211 of West Battery Whale Island are the Senior Rates Engineering Career Managers, a team of 16 managing the careers of over 5,000 personnel, both at sea and ashore. The teams are made up of


engineers specific to the branches that they manage and three POWTRs. Also on the same floor as the


Career Managers (CMs) are the Requirement Managers (RMs). The two teams work closely together and speak on a day-to -day basis on wide-ranging branch and policy issues for which the RMs lead. The RMs’ remit includes


shaping the liability and ensuring branch structural sustainability, managing the strength through development and delivery of personnel management policies and advising on recruiting, transfer, CW extraction, EC and promotion. With the notification of the


first tranche of redundancies being announced at the end of this month, the Autumn term will be a difficult time for all Career Managers as they try to juggle their plots to meet the needs of both individuals and unit line management; patience and forbearance will be needed on all


This is leading to the Career Management desks experiencing difficulties


in contacting


individuals if required and also causes problems in obtaining up-to-date information for an individual’s DV. As with all desks, communication


with individual career managers is important either by e-mail/ telephone or, more importantly, JPA preferences which are a vital source of information for each desk and E240s. Individual preferences need


Drafty’s corner


sides before coming to equitable solutions in accordance with Fleet priorities.


 Current concerns across all


Engineering Career


Management desks Personnel are not regularly


updating their personal details on JPA eg Address, Preferences, Mobile/Home Telephone Number.


to be scrutinised by Divisional Officers – beware of personnel asking for Manchester, Cheshire and Birmingham appointments – there are no Engineering jobs in these areas! Poor/non-existent ‘front page’


content in SJARs is becoming increasingly common. Personnel are reminded that the


SJAR front page is an important tool for Reporting Officers, Career Management and Promotion Boards.


According to the data held in


JPA there are 594 engineering Senior Rates who have no record or are out-of-date for RNFT. The importance of remaining in


date for RNFT and ensuring your RNFT status on JPA is correct cannot be emphasised enough.


scheme


Covenant grant


THE COMMUNITY Covenant Grant Scheme has been launched to support projects which strengthen the ties between members of the Armed Forces and their local communities. Bids need to show a clear


benefit to both the Armed Forces and local community; examples of the types of projects that might be supported include playgrounds, library exhibitions, activity camps and veteran outreach programmes, among many others. For full details, please see DIN


2011 DIN01-176: Armed Forces Community Covenant Grant Scheme. Applications for the next Grant Panel must be in before September 30.


The way ahead for pensions


THE Second Sea Lord has written to personnel about the Armed Forces Pension Scheme in Galaxy 28-2011. He advises in his introduction:


“Whilst there is little by way of new information I am acutely aware of the scope for rumour and disinformation.” Among the points he underlines,


he stresses: “Changes will not come into force before 2015.”


 See Galaxy 28-2011


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