Generic Evidence from our Issues Database
Housing In terms of generic evidence arising from our Issues database, (populated by issues brought to our attention by family members making direct contact via the website or hotline), Service Families Accommodation (SFA) continues to dominate the agenda. Indeed, such was the workload, we opted to establish a dedicated Evidence Assistant (Housing) in January 2011 to cope with the casework.
Since last year, we have again detected a reduction in complaints arising from the performance of maintenance contractors (although they still feature!) and an increase in issues relating to allocation policies and availability of appropriately sized accommodation for those who do not currently fit the MoD definition of an entitled family.
Extended families continue to feature, with elderly parents, children from previous relationships, and older children returning to the nest after university or college creating pressure on the families for whom extra bedrooms are not available.
Family members with Special Needs create additional challenges and, whilst DIO staffs are doing their best with limited stock and even more limited funding, some families are experiencing significant stress when required to relocate as the result of an assignment.
We have raised concerns with the Minister that, even if the Future Accommodation Project leads to a new model for the provision of military accommodation, this is likely to take years to implement, and we have stressed the need for continued investment in the SFA estate in the interim.
We were therefore bitterly disappointed to be advised by the Minister in July that there would be a ‘pause’ in the funding for years 3-5 of the planned SFA upgrade programme. We know that senior DIO staffs did their best to ring-fence the budget but this failure only adds to the feelings amongst SFA occupants that their housing needs are not deemed important enough to justify investment.
We have also raised concerns over increasing evidence of shortages of accommodation – many estates are full to bursting, with families being accommodated many miles from the parent unit, a situation exacerbated when the non-serving family member doesn’t drive or they are on a patch with
limited or no community facilities.
We are also aware that changes to the ‘Home to Duty’ rules have left many angry that, despite having no choice over where they live, they now have to pay a personal contribution to get to work, when they are entitled to live on the parent base. Examples of areas where there are shortages of accommodation include RAF Brize Norton, RAF Benson, RAF Coningsby and MoD Abbeywood.
Partners’ Employment Another area highlighted via our database is the continuing difficulty non-serving family members experience in obtaining and maintaining employment and/or training. For many, a second income is vital and the assignment of the uniformed partner can completely undermine the non-serving partner’s ability to pursue his or her own career. Childcare links to this aspect of family life, with the cost and availability of childcare varying across the country and having a direct impact on a partner’s ability to work.
Our two workshops covering these areas will hopefully provide further evidence on the nature of family life in 2011 and the pressures created by dual careers. Of course, many of these are co-serving couples, and this comes with its own challenges.
Impact of Assignments The RAF FF has continued to receive enquiries from family members for whom a proposed assignment, often linked with long-awaited promotion, creates significant family-related challenges.
We are aware that a number have turned down promotion to achieve family stability but when this is linked to further service and associated security of employment, such decisions are very difficult and can result in unwanted family separation for the duration of a tour or even consecutive tours.
We have continued measuring the extent of this type of family separation by posing specific questions about those who commute from the family home to their place of work to try to establish what percentage of families are opting to stabilise the family rather than ‘follow the flag’. It is clear from our evidence to date that the majority of our audiences seek
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