AFF Great Britain - What we are working on
Welfare support to individual augmentees
The Op Herrick 12 Survey, conducted by our then Yorkshire Co-ordinator Louise Simpson, clearly identified issues relating to welfare provision to individual augmentees. This issue was also the subject of a question at the AFF Conference 2010. Issues included lack of contact, family not being aware of who their welfare support was provided by, and a general feeling of isolation. In an example of proactive working, AFF was contacted by RTMC Chilwell, who are keen to work together to develop a more successful strategy to ensure all families feel supported. The AFF Evidence Manager has provided a briefing document including all issues brought to us, and Director GB will be visiting RTMC shortly to begin work with the unit.
Redundancy fallout
AFF GB, through our team of co-ordinators will continue to record issues relating to the redundancy rounds. These issues are already including issues involving housing, education, health and additional needs and the very obvious one of – money.
Foreign and Commonwealth
After a period of being completely inundated with enquiries, it was obvious that it was not possible to sustain this method of working. The decision was taken to change the role of the specialist slightly, moving away from individual casework, and more towards empowering families with information and the confidence to move forward and deal with issues themselves. It is early days but we will continue to monitor the bigger issues relating to the nationality of our Foreign and Commonwealth families, and ensure they are raised to the correct level of the chain of command and Government alike.
Housing availability
With the loss of the INVOLSEP rule for claimants of CEA, housing within London will become even more of an issue. We will continue to monitor enquiries raised on this area and report back to the chain of command as and when problems are brought to us. Acute housing shortages remain in many key areas, AFF regional managers will work with local command to keep them up to date with any issues arising as a result of this shortfall.
Rebasing issues
GB Branch, led by Director GB, will carry out visits to the proposed new GB Army locations, to ensure we can comment on families needs from an informed point of view.
TA Survey
With the news that the TA/RR will be increasing in size, AFF is running a survey to establish the support needs of families outside the military bubble.
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