34 NAVY NEWS, JANUARY 2012
New year, more action
IN THE last issue of Navy News we update
readers
promised on
to the
action points that had fallen out from the Ministerial meeting, held on November 1, writes Jane Williams of the NFF.
Education,
The topics included Service Families
Accommodation allocations and Preference, Spousal Employment and opportunities for the Secretary of State to hear from Armed Forces families.
As these actions take shape
and give tangible results we will report back to you....
n Service Families Accommodation (SFA) With the planned changes to
Housing Information Centre (HICs) in 2012 and the reduction of eight HICS to two, will the IT systems planned to support the changes be in place? The answer – robust testing
will be taking place in the New Year, the system will only go live once there is confidence that everything has been thoroughly tested and is working. Will you be moving SFA soon? The electronic version of the
1132, (the application form for SFA) has had a good take-up but more could be done. Fifty
per cent of recent
RN 1132s were submitted electronically, the benefits of knowing that your application has arrived, the ability to track your application on-line and receive correspondence via e-mail totals up to a 70 per cent efficiency improvement. If you can’t access the Intranet to make an application we really need to hear from you.... DIO want to know how the
application process can be best improved for Royal Naval families...
found via the Intranet: http://
apps01.domis.r.mil.uk/e1132/ The Chief Executive of DIO Andrew Manly hosted a meeting with the Families Federations on November 30 to discuss DIO business. The news is that he is engaged and has extended invitations to the Federations
The e1132 can be to attend
briefing sessions and update him directly on concerns and issues – feedback, feedback, feedback please... For
information, we asked
if introducing a Cycle to Work scheme could be reconsidered but the response is that under the current JPA constraints nothing further can be done. If you think it would make a difference to you as a result of the changes in Home to Duty allowances then we will revisit this once the ‘son of JPA’ is in place. Over to you for comment..
n Public Sector Pay Awards As part of the Autumn
Statement on November 29, the Chancellor announced that public sector pay awards, including those for members of the Armed Forces, will average at one per cent for the two years following the public sector pay freeze.
The Government has
confirmed that the public sector pay freeze will end in March 2013,
but given the wider pressures on the public finances, there is a need for a further period of pay restraint. Incremental progression will continue for eligible Service personnel. The Armed Forces will not be asked to consider options for more localised pay. For further information
serving personnel should see DIB 2011DIB/100 on the Defence Intranet. The Daily Mail asked for a view from the NFF, here is the extract printed on December 1: “With all the uncertainty for
the forces at the moment this is another blow. We recognise that everyone – the military, people in civvy street – are having a tough time at the moment. But this is not helpful in the run-up to Christmas. “Next year
the Forces for
going to be very busy with security
the Olympics, the
Diamond Jubilee and more tours of Afghanistan and this will make families and service personnel feel pretty unloved and undervalued.” The full article can be found on our website:
www.nff.org.uk. Questions that naturally fall
from the announcements revolve around the role and remit of the AFPRB.
They have done an amazing
job over the last few years and in our view must be liberated to continue to do so. What do you think?
n Women allowed to serve on submarines: The Secretary of State for Defence, Philip Hammond, has announced that women are to be allowed to serve on Royal Navy submarines for the first time. The decision comes following
an 18-month review conducted by the Royal Navy, which included contribution
from submariner
families via the NFF, looking at the legal, operational, health, social, technical and financial issues of allowing women to serve on submarines. Women had previously been excluded from submariner roles due to concerns about higher levels of carbon dioxide in a submarine atmosphere being a risk to female health. But
recent research by the
Institute of Naval Medicine showed that these risks were unfounded and that there were no medical reasons for excluding women from service on submarines. Currently, more than nine per
cent of Royal Navy personnel are female, approximately 3,420, with the first female submariners expected to take up their posts towards the end of 2013. Further
found via our website:
www.nff.
org.uk If you have any questions or
information can be
concerns you would like to raise on this matter please contact the NFF, tel: 02392 654374, e-mail:
admin@nff.org.uk
n Forward slash community... All change for families using the Royal Navy’s virtual community website. With the launch of the new look
Royal Navy website any families who want to either join the virtual community or continue to use it will need to make sure that you have registered on the new website.
Is it easy to find? Follow your nose to the ‘community’ section on the Royal Navy website, you will need the Service number of your Serving Person to register. Let us know what you think
about the new look community facilities –
www.royalnavy.mod. uk/
n Pupil Premium in England Each January schools conduct a census. Schools with children of Serving personnel can receive a Pupil Premium of £200 per child, per year.
Please take action to make sure
that your school has the correct information recorded so that they can claim the Pupil Premium to help support your children. For more information on the Pupil Premium please go to
www.nff.org.uk and click on the ‘education’ button. If you want to know how the school is spending the Pupil Premium we would recommend that you write to the Chair of Governors asking them. If you have any worries or
don’t get a response, then please get in touch and tell us. We want to know.
n Package of Support for the Armed Forces Community in Wales
The Minister with responsibility
for the Armed Forces in Wales, Carl Sargeant, has announced the range of measures set out for the community by the Welsh Government.
Government
Mr Sargeant said: “The Welsh is
committed to
increasing the support we provide to the Armed Forces community in Wales.
“This document sets out how
we are supporting the Armed Forces in Wales, their families and veterans in key areas that are devolved such as healthcare, housing and education. “In Wales there are estimated
to be at least a quarter of a million members of the Armed Forces Community,
which includes
serving personnel, reservists and cadets as well as their families and ex-service personnel. “As a Government we want to ensure that they suffer no disadvantage.
“I hope the support outlined in this document, which will be revised as and when new initiatives are agreed, will go a long way in achieving this.” The link to the Welsh Government’s
published
document can be found via
www.nff.org.uk If you are one of those Royal
Navy or Royal Marines families living in Wales tell us what more
could Wales do for you?
n Money Advice Service Money Advice Service
provides free, clear, independent and unbiased advice to help people make informed financial choices. Their website offers a wide range of tools
are
Clarion call for Covenant
IT seems that the implications of the Armed Forces Covenant (AFC) are still to be firmly understood among members of the Royal Navy. The Naval Secretary sent out a Galaxy message (2011/40) in November to clarify the background to the Covenant and what it means to RN and RM personnel and their families. The Covenant
government’s aspiration that no one in the Armed Forces community should suffer disadvantage in accessing public or commercial of
and their appropriate, that
military they
treatments. These principles have been
receive special
enshrined in law with the existence of the Covenant recognised in statute.
include: n a Pupil Premium for Service children; n a new annual £3 million to
community projects that benefit both the Service and local community; n an increase in council tax
for should, outlines the
services because commitment, where
Teachers scheme to encourage Service leavers into teaching; n doubling
allowance; n changes to the Rest
the
Recuperation leave policies to ensure that days missed in the UK for operational reasons are added to Post Operational Leave; n the launch of the Armed
operational and
Forces Bereavement Scholarship Scheme; n considerable improvements to mental healthcare. If you are having difficulties in accessing public or commercial services, you should first contact your Divisional Officer and raise the issue through your chain of command.
Successes so far achieved
support state schools with large numbers of Service children; n a £30 million grant
relief to 50 per cent for personnel on deployed qualifying operations; n launching a Troops to
both you and your family is the Naval Families Federation which provides advice and support on a range of issues. The Service Personnel and Agency (SPVA) and
Veterans Another avenue open to
Service charities can provide similar advice for veterans. As well as feeding back via the chain of command, if you have a particular issue, such as a school place allocation, there is a route to recourse with your local authority. You will need to raise the issue your
with
and details of this process can be found on the local authority’s website. It may look daunting, but the process is straightforward.
Jill joins the Silent Service
THE Defence Secretary Philip Hammond announced on December 8 that women were to be allowed to serve in submarines for the first time in the history of the Silent Service. First Sea Lord Sir Mark Stanhope sent out a Galaxy message to all
personnel regarding mixed manning in submarines (Galaxy 43-2011). He outlined the review process of the last 18 months, saying: “My
primary objective in making this change has been to maintain our operational effectivenes now and in the future.” He added: “I know and understand that many of you and your
families will have questions, ranging from the policy aspects to the practical implications of women serving at sea to why we are making this change at this time.
and resources,
including a financial health check and personalised action plan. You can also get advice over the phone on: 0300 500 5000, and face-to-face across the UK through a national network. Website:
healthcheck.
moneyadviceservice.org.uk or visit
www.nff.org.uk and follow the links.
n The Big White Wall Over 1,000 Service men
and women, veterans and their families have joined www.
bigwhitewall.com since
its
official launch in September. The Big White Wall is a pioneering online wellbeing
service for
people who are feeling low or depressed. The service is available for free to the Service community and offers help and support in a variety of ways, including online counsellors and peer support. Support is available 24/7 and
users can talk anonymously to others who may have gone through similar experiences.
n Homeport The new edition of Homeport magazine is out, the one with six Jewels of the Fleet! Well, five, if you take out HMS Victory on the front cover! Featuring amongst the packed pages articles on JPA Fraud, Redundancy & Housing Advice plus your Q&As... Either pick up your free copy or contact the NFF to have the magazine delivered free of charge to you and your family’s address.
Your experiences form the basis of all our discussions. To get in touch with the
NFF: e-mail:
admin@nff.org.uk, Tel: 02392 654374 or write to: Castaway House, 311 Twyford Avenue, Portsmouth, PO2 8RN.
onward cascade to answer the immediate questions that you may have. “In addition, RASM (Rear Admiral Submarines) and DRASM (Deputy to the Rear Admiral Submarines) will be arranging wider meetings for submariners and their families to discuss the issues in greater depth.”
Pension planning
THE Second
written to staff in Galaxy 39/2011 updating them on the current situation with the future Armed Forces Pension Scheme. Vice Adm Charles Montgomery
says that negotiations with the Government are ongoing, and he expects to be able to provide more detail in the New Year. A series of consultations with members of the Armed Forces are expected to begin imminently. When new information becomes available, it will be cascaded through the command chain.
Search and Rescue moves to Transport
AN announcement in late November from the Transport Secretary outlined government plans to move search and rescue services
entirely under the
Department for Transport and to make the service fully civilian. A study is now under way with respect to the future of military aircrew, engineers and maintainers from the Sea King community. See Galaxy 42-2011 and DIB 98/2011 for more information.
Sea Lord has
A NEW DIN has been issued on the care of Service personnel under the age of 18.
Care of the under 18s
It outlines the legal and welfare responsibilities that specifically relate to those people aged under 18, although much of the advice could be applicable to older people who are new to the Services. In
operational deployment terms of people under the age of 18 and appropriate steps to be taken. It also gives a breakdown of
principles regarding contact with parents.
See DIN 2011DIN01-233 for more information.
Procurement under the hammer
THERE are major changes ahead for future procurement processes. Galaxy 41-2011 outlines what is coming up, introduction
including the of Aspect, a new
contract management tool. This new system is expected to go live this month for Navy Command, and has already been rolled out to the RAF and Army. For more information, the Navy Command Aspect focal point can be reached on 93832 5509 or 3542.
addition, it defines the “The command chain has been provided with detailing briefing, for local ombudsman,
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48