FEDERATION
ACCOMMODATION MATTERS
by Stan Brathwaite, RAFFFHousing Specialist
Imay be jumping the gun here but, based on the relatively small number of cases with whom we interact directly (currently about 50 per month), compared to the number of ‘response maintenance tasks’ that CarillionAmey (CA) actually perform per month (currently about 2,000), there may be grounds for optimism that the delivery of service to occupants is improving? The question mark is deliberate, because Iwant to know if you agree.
However,rest assured that, whilst this seems to be ‘good news’, we fully understand that 50 families per month is 50 too many,especially if you are one of those families, and that we will continue to pressure CA on your behalf to strive for customer service excellence.
CA have anumber of initiatives to help you inform them of your views and recently curiosity got the better of me, so Itook along my Line Manager, Colin Jones, to a CarillionAmey/ DIO monthly Housing Surgery at Uxbridge to witness for ourselves what goes on at these events. Imust confess that the number of SFAoccupants that attended was very disappointing:
16 Spring 2016
Unfortunately,not asingle RAF family attended –yet we know from RAF families that reside at Uxbridge, Northolt, Ickenham and West Ruislip that SFAproblems do exist.
These surgeries are there for residents of Service Accommodation and in addition to DIO and CarillionAmey,the station welfare team also attend. They provide the opportunity for families with housing issues that they cannot resolve using the standard process to bring to CA and other appropriate organisations face to face. It’s your opportunity to have your say and to get aformal response. Please find out when the surgeries occur at your unit and go along to the next session, even if it’s just to meet the teams. They even lay on beverages and agood selection of biscuits! We will investigate future dates and promote through our eBULLETIN as they are fed in (free to sign up).
If you have attended one of these surgeries at your unit, we would welcome your thoughts on its effectiveness compared to, say,using Facebook to express your views.
Another initiative is the CarillionAmey Drop-in Centres
(otherwise known as the Local Customer Service Centre (LCSC)). As the title implies, you can walk in and discuss your immediate housing issue(s) with the CA Advisor. They will assist you on progressing urgent issues or tasks that have been dragging on and any other CA concerns that you may have. These centres are only part-time and do not engage with customers by telephone or email. Currently there are 22 drop-in centres, located at military units across the UK. For the RAF,there are centres at Boulmer, Brize, Cosford, High Wycombe, Marham, Waddington and Wyton.
The Future Accommodation Model –Ifyou live in SFA, you will be well aware of many of the problems with the current Service Accommodation system –it’s fine when it works and gives you what you need but, for many people, it doesn’t. At last, the MOD is recognising that change to the accommodation ‘offer’islong overdue. Some Service personnel want to live with their family at their place of work and that others want to commute weekly; some want extra rooms for their children to stay at weekends and holiday time,
www.raf-ff.org.uk
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