The RAF Families Federation’s growing involvement T
he Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, has provided £235,000 to the RAF Families Federation
to support the implementation of the Armed Forces Covenant. The money comes from the £35million of fines paid by banks after some employees were found to have attempted to fix the banking LIBOR system.
Other organisations working on behalf of service personnel have also been awarded funding and in this announcement Mr Osborne allocated a further £2.6 million of the fund, taking the total so far to £7million.
Mr Osborne said: “Our Servicemen and women make huge sacrifices on behalf of our country. That is why it is right that those who have paid fines in our financial sector because they demonstrated the very worst values are paying to support those in our Armed Forces who demonstrate the very best of British values”.
Defence Secretary Philip Hammond said: “It is fitting that the Armed Forces should benefit from these fines paid by financial institutions. I am pleased that our service charities are being recognised in this way”.
Director of the RAF Families Federation, Bill Mahon, said: “We are very pleased to have been given this funding. The money given to the RAF Families Federation is to further the work of the Armed Forces Covenant, to monitor implementation and report progress. We will do all we can to ensure that the aims of the Armed Forces Covenant are turned into practical help that removes disadvantage caused by service life.
“The funding will be used on a number of initiatives to improve awareness of the Covenant and to engage with units, RAF personnel and their families, local authorities and other organisations to ensure that the aims of the Armed Forces Covenant are implemented, that our people are given a fair deal and that the principles underlying the Covenant are respected. Some of this work will be carried out alongside the other two Families Federations, who have been given similar remits”.
The funding coincides with publication of the RAF Families Federation survey report on the Armed Forces Covenant. Bill continues:
“In this survey we asked for views on a number of Covenant-related issues, including children’s education, spouse employment and awareness of the Covenant itself. As well
as putting the survey online, we also visited RAFs Brize Norton, Benson and St Mawgan to collect data from personnel.
“We appreciated the time and consideration these busy units gave us. Our analysis of the results is complete and it contains few surprises. People are cynical about the Covenant and the messages about its potential benefits do not seem to be getting through. Having said that, it’s also clear from the evidence that it’s not well known within external agencies either, and its application is patchy within local authorities, by the NHS and by the education system. In short, we think there’s much work needed by everyone involved and we will be taking that message back to the Cabinet Office via the Covenant Reference Group.
“The RAF Families Federation has been tasked through the Cabinet Armed Forces Covenant Reference Group to assist in monitoring and reporting on implementation of the Covenant, liaising with units, families and local authorities to raise awareness, and to advise on issues to be resolved and examples of good practice. We will continue to gather evidence over the next twelve months and report on the further progress made in 2014.”
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