FOREWORD FOREWORD BY RT HON MARK FRANCOIS MP
MINISTER OF STATE FOR DEFENCE PERSONNEL, WELFARE & VETERANS
I
am very pleased as the new Minister of State for Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans to have this chance to introduce myself to you. I absolutely wanted this job and I’m delighted to have got
it. I have some experience of the military: My Father was in the Royal Navy during WW II and I served as a Territorial Army Officer in the 80’s with the Royal Anglian Regiment. I did not deploy on operations and I have not got any medals but the Queen’s Commission hangs on my wall at home, I understand the military ethos and I have at least some appreciation of where you are coming from.
I am very conscious of the crucial role that the whole family – spouses, partners, parents, brothers, sisters and beyond - play in supporting our RAF Servicemen and women in doing their jobs, whether deployed overseas or based in the UK, and I want to do everything I can to try and ensure that your issues and concerns are understood and, where possible, something is done about them. I know that, for many of you, housing issues are of particular concern – be it the standard of accommodation, the allocation process, the entitlement policy or the maintenance contract – and I am already working with the MoD policy officials in the DIO and your Federation to see what can be done to ease matters. I have already seen some examples of both the worst housing and the best the Service has to offer, giving me a platform on which to ensure the quality is improved to set a high standard for all in the future.
Over the next few years our Armed Forces will become structured to deal with the unexpected and unplanned, rather than the more predictable deployments of the Iraq and Afghanistan campaigns of the last decade. This will provide a new set of challenges. Where will our forces be based? How will they be supported? What career structure will be needed to make sure life in the Armed Forces is an attractive option for the brightest and the best?
The MoD is embarking on the design phase of a New Employment Model (NEM) to answer the last two questions. This will be a very complex process - looking at everything from career paths to terms and conditions, allowances to accommodation. A daunting task at any time. But it is made more difficult by the fiscal conditions we face. The New Employment Model must reflect the best use of taxpayer’s money, as well as meet the needs of Defence, and of individual soldiers, sailors, airmen and their families. I know that the impact of the Strategic Defence and Security Review has been difficult but in the economic climate of the
www.raf-ff.org.uk
foreseeable future, the only way we are going to meet the needs of national security, is to make sure that our Armed Forces are sustainable as well as powerful. We will have to continue to prioritise strictly and only make promises we know we can fulfil.
Within these constraints I am looking forward to doing everything I practically can to improve the lot of our service personnel and their families. I have already visited Air Command and a number of airbases and RAF facilities and I hope to visit more going forward into 2013.
I am firmly of the view that your Federation has a crucial role to play in representing the views of RAF families. It has a powerful voice that is genuinely listened to – especially where the issue raised is backed up by evidence. So, if you are concerned about an issue that you believe is impacting negatively on you and your family, or indeed you have a ‘feel-good’ story you want to share, contact the RAF Families Federation with the evidence so that it can challenge or reinforce existing and proposed policies and procedures.
Without your input, Bill Mahon and his team cannot be as effective, so I urge you to make best use of the Federation’s independent voice to ensure that your voice is heard and your views are taken into account.
Finally, may I take this opportunity to wish you and your family all the very best for Christmas and the New Year.
Envoy Winter 2012 5
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