FEDERATION HOUSING/
Here’s our regular housing news by Stan Brathwaite, RAF FF’s Housing Specialist.
C
arillionAmey (CA) has now been delivering Occupancy Services and Response Maintenance
to families in SFA since November (Scotland) and December 2014 in the rest of the country, and so far as we can ascertain there has been, in general, a guarded welcome to the new contract.
We keep an eye on social media and SFA- specific websites for RAF families and whilst this form of media represents a healthy means of sharing common problems, please just be aware that the information being shared or acted upon is not always correct. So, if you have recently interacted with CA, or have a housing problem for which you would like some advice, please do not rely solely on what you pick up from these sources but do contact the experts. And of course we would dearly like you to share your experience with us, be it good, bad or indifferent.
Combined Accommodation Assessment Scheme
I mentioned in my previous article that I would try to shed a little more light on a topic I know will become dear to your hearts. Previous consultation with personnel and their families found that both wanted a better way of grading their accommodation that was fair, yet still at a subsidised rate. The new Combined Accommodation Assessment Scheme (CAAS) will replace the existing outdated 4 tier grading system for SFA charges in April 2016. It is not planned to introduce CAAS for Single Living Accommodation (SLA) before 2017 at the earliest. The short version of the new scheme is that SFA charges will still be subsidised by the MoD and the top rate will still be recommended by the Armed Forces Pay Review Body (AFPRB). These rates will then be adjusted further for condition, scale and location factors for the property.
ACCOMMODATION MATTERS
One of the key objectives of CAAS is that that all properties allocated from April 2016 will be baselined to the Government Decent Homes Standard (DHS). DIO will aspire to achieve a DHS Plus standard, an enhanced version of DHS. You can get further information regarding the definition of DHS from visiting this government website; (gov. uk/government/publications/a-decent- home-definitionand-guidance).
Generally, the top level features of DHS are: • Boilers/plumbing in reasonable state of repair • Efficient heating • Noise/thermal insulation
A street of modernised Service Family Accommodation (SFA) on the Marchwood Estate, Southampton, Hampshire. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0
20 Envoy Spring 2015
www.raf-ff.org.uk
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