YOU AND THE RAF
groups; he is also a member of the housing complaints panel. Much of his work is spent dealing with the MoD and with the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO), which has responsibility for the actual delivery of the MoD’s housing provision. At unit level, housing issues are largely addressed by the twenty-eight Service Community Support Officers (SCSO) that we have across the UK. The SCSOs work closely with RAF families to help facilitate housing-related issues with local DIO staffs.
Service Funds
Another important piece of the Community Support remit is Service Funds policy, following changes brought on by the Charity Act 2006. A small team, led by Sqn Ldr Stu Graham, monitors expenditure and interprets policy to ensure compliance; they also coordinate auditing and help to provide necessary governance and overview.
The Team works closely with the RAF’s major Service charities to provide non- public financial support. WO Ali Thorne is the focal point for advice and guidance on how to access charitable funds and she deals routinely with the Nuffield Trust, RAF Central Fund and the RAF Sports Board to optimise funding for worthy projects in the UK and overseas. Community Support staff also work with the RAF Benevolent Fund,
the RAF Association and the RAF Charitable Trust to support the wider RAF Community.
The Armed Forces Covenant The launch of the Armed Forces Covenant on 16 May 11 represented a significant milestone in formally recognising that our personnel, veterans and their families have the support they need and are treated with the dignity they deserve. The key principle of the Covenant is that Service personnel and their families should not be disadvantaged by Service life and that special provision may be appropriate in some cases.
The Interim Annual Report published in Dec 11 confirmed that progress is being made but there is more to do. Community Support are the RAF’s policy focal point for the Covenant Team in taking this work forward. One of the best tools for assessing if the implementation of Covenant principles is having the desired effect is via feedback from the spouses/partners of Service personnel. This information is gathered though the annual RAF Families Survey. The latest edition hit the streets in late Feb 12 and we strongly encourage you to complete and return it if you are one of the recipients.
RAF Community The Community Support Team aims to
share as much relevant information as we can with the wider RAF community. We do this through our policy briefings, letters to station staffs, our inputs to newsletters and via e-mails and phone calls. However, the tool with the greatest reach is our Community Support website. Managed and developed by our Webmaster, WO Phil Chadwick, the website provides a structured and user-friendly route to an abundance of information.
Probably the most useful link from our website is the one to Airspace, the website specifically for RAF personnel and their families. Any member of the RAF can register and use Airspace and they can also give Guest User Access to up to three friends or family members – particularly useful when a serving partner is deployed, as you can communicate via a dedicated chatroom, forum, receive updates and share photos. Why not give it a try and let us know what you think about our website, too?
RAF COMMUNITY SUPPORT: INCLUSIVE•SUPPORTIVE•CONNECTED The Community Support website is at:
www.raf.mod.uk/community
To find out more about your local HIVE visit:
www.raf.mod.uk/community/ support/rafhiveinformationservice
www.raf-ff.org.uk
Envoy Spring 2012
37
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