Key Federation Activity
Armed Forces Covenant Shortly after the General Election, the new Coalition Government committed itself to taking forward work initiated by the Labour Government under the Service Personnel Command Paper to better recognise the needs of the Armed Forces community and to demonstrate the Nation’s support for its Armed Forces.
The External Reference Group was asked to contribute to the development of a new tri-Service Covenant and our evidence was sought by the House of Commons Defence Committee as they considered how to enshrine this new Covenant in law under the Armed Forces Bill.
Our evidence emphasised the need to ensure that all parties to the Covenant, be that Devolved Administrations, Other Government Departments, local communities or the general public, understood the unique nature of military life and pledged to remove the disadvantage that some members of the Armed Forces community suffered as a result of service.
We also stressed the need for enduring support to those in uniform, and their families, particularly those injured or bereaved through service. Finally, we highlighted the need for measurement of performance against each of the commitments made in the Covenant and pledged ourselves to providing evidence where the commitments were not being met or where disadvantage continued.
The Covenant was published in June 2011 and the Federation continued to work as a member of the high-level, Cabinet-led Covenant Reference Group, tasked with drafting the first Annual Report, which was published in December 2011. RAF families can rest assured that their evidence was used to shape this first report and that work continues to influence the Covenant agenda on their behalf.
Expert Group on the Needs of the Armed Forces Community in Wales Inspired by the work of the Service Personnel Command Paper and the Armed Forces Covenant, the Welsh Assembly decided to establish its own Expert Group to ensure the spirit of the Covenant was delivered across the Principality. This was encapsulated in the Welsh Assembly Group’s ‘Package of Support for the Armed Forces Community’ published in November 2011.
Although the RAF has only one major base in Wales, the Principality is a strong military recruiting ground and there are many who have family members living in Wales. Moreover, there are many veterans living in the community, so a focus on their needs was certainly something we felt we should support. We have attended meetings with the Minister and his officials in Cardiff and have ensured that the needs of the RAF community are fully understood and, where possible, taken into account by those who deliver public services.
Armed Forces Pay Review Body (AFPRB) As in previous years, the Federation welcomed the opportunity to represent the family perspective on RAF life to the AFPRB. Drawing on evidence arising from our online surveys and issues reported directly, we provided evidence of the impact of the wider economic situation on families’ income and quality of life, and the specific impact of the Allowances Review, announced as part of the SDSR in January 2011.
We commented on the impact of the two-year pay freeze being experienced by the majority of RAF families and the cumulative effect of the increase in the cost of living, the pay freeze and allowances reductions in addition to the rising costs of childcare and the challenging job market that was making it even more difficult for partners to find and retain meaningful employment. We touched on the stagnant housing market and the challenges many RAF families faced in trying to purchase their own home or sell and buy when posted.
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