EMERGING ISSUES APPOINTED CAS T T


he Queen has approved the appointment


of Air Marshal Sir Andrew Pulford KCB CBE as Chief of the Air Staff in Jul 13. He is promoted to Air Chief Marshal.


Te RAF’s relationship with UAE


he RAF’s relationship continues with the United Arab Emirates as 906 Expeditionary Air Wing


Stands Up there.


£14 M BRIMSTONE CONTRACT


missile allows RAF crews to engage moving or static targets by day or night with pin point accuracy.


A T


Increases in National Insurance


T


he MoD has said the 1.4%


increase in NI contributions relates to the State Pension and has nothing to do with the entirely separate AF Pension Scheme.


CHILD BENEFIT IN THE FUTURE O 10


n the 7 Jan 13 the rules on Child


Benefit changed and letters are being sent to those families affected. If a member of a household earns more than £50,000pa and either they, or the person they live with, claims Child Benefit they will have to pay a High Income Child Benefit charge. The alternative is to stop claiming Child Benefit to avoid the charge but seek advice as State Pension may be affected.


Envoy Spring 2013 I


NEW GLOCK PISTOL REPLACES BROWNING


he MoD has signed a £9m contract to


provide personnel with new Glock sidearms. Te pistol is much lighter than the Browning, is more accurate, takes more rounds and can be brought to bear more quickly.


REDUCTION IN PENSION RELIEF


t is likely the reduction in pension tax relief


will affect more than just the very rich. It is also likely to affect long-serving senior officers.


CDS – “On-board pilots are not indispensable…”


T


he Chief of the Defence Staff has


presented his vision for the future of the Armed Forces. In his speech Gen Sir David Richards said: “Together with my fellow Chiefs I have been examining how we should best use what we have and what we need for the future. We must not allow sacred cows – such as the indispensability of on-board pilots – to rule the day.”


new £14m contract to deliver precision attack weapons to the RAF has been announced. The


Federation Pressure changes SFA Policy


F L


ollowing pressure from the Families Federations the MoD have revised their policy on retention of


SFA in instances where spouses are on adult educational courses or required to give a notice period to employers. Te changes take immediate effect.


Defence Secretary welcomes Lord Levene’s Review of Progress


ord Levene congratulated the Department


on strong progress made against the 53 recommendations made in the Defence Reform Review published in Jun 11 and said he believes the programme is being run with genuine urgency.


The Director talks on BFBS Radio


D T


irector of the RAF FF, Bill Mahon, has


been speaking to Patrick Eade of BFBS Radio on his meeting with the Minister, Mark Francois. Bill believes the Covenant is working in areas of Education, Health and Housing but that there is still much to be done.


Reservists are not missing out financially...


he media reported that Reservists


are missing out on pay because the MoD shortened tour lengths to save money. The MoD said: “We are reducing troop numbers in Afghanistan and some reservists will come home earlier than planned”.


www.raf-ff.org.uk


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