Information - NFF

Did You Know
Agency and Service charities such as the Royal
British Legion can provide similar advice. If you
have a particular issue such as school place
allocation there is a route for recourse with
your local authority. You will need to raise the
issue with your local Ombudsman, details of
this process can be found on their website, the
easiest way to find this is via a search engine. It
may look daunting, but the process is relatively
straight forward.
Feedback and Suggestions
The annual report that the Defence Secretary
has to present to Parliament will summarise
how the Government is progressing with the
Covenant in supporting the Armed Forces,
their families and veterans, including any
disadvantage due to Service. This report is
an opportunity for change and the evidence
for this change will be from your feedback.
This feedback will be collated from a variety
of sources including the reports from NFF
visits, their website and your comments in the
Families Attitudinal Survey.
Navy Command HQ plays a role within
the AFC Team, and the NFF also have an
independent feed into the compilation of
the Annual Report and in all Covenantrelated
matters. The Chair of NFF sits on an
independent Covenant Reference Group
which meets quarterly to discuss and raise
awareness of current issues. If you have
a suggestion of an initiative that would fit
within the bounds of the Covenant, it can be
submitted via the NFF.
Further Information
You can find out more via www.royalnavy.
mod.uk that has links to NFF, RNCom and
a number of other helpful sites. Using any
search engine for ‘Armed Forces Covenant’ will
find the report and the associated measures.
Homeport and NFF will continue to provide
updates as new measures are announced.
Armed Forces Community Covenant Scheme Launched
On 16 May 2011 the Secretary of State published
the Armed Forces Covenant that outlines
the moral obligation between the Nation,
the Government and the Armed Forces and
aims to improve support to the Armed Forces
Community (that includes serving personnel, their
families and veterans).
The aims of the Community Covenant include:
• to encourage local communities to support the
Armed Forces Community in their areas, and
vice versa
• to promote understanding and awareness
amongst the public of issues affecting the Armed
Forces Community
• to recognise and remember the sacrifices made
by the Armed Forces Community
• to encourage activities which help to integrate
the Armed Forces Community into local life.
The Community Covenant has been launched
in three locations in England – Oxfordshire,
Hampshire and North Yorkshire. In addition,
Vale of Glamorgan in Wales has decided to
launch a Community Covenant, the first in
Wales. The Local Authorities in these areas
have established, or are establishing, effective
relationships with the military communities
in their area. However, establishment of a
Community Covenant can also be initiated by
the Armed Forces Community. MOD has also
been approached by other areas expressing an
interest, so watch this space.
The vast majority of communities in the UK,
if not all, will have members of the Armed
Forces Community living within them, be
they regular serving personnel, reservists,
family members or veterans. A large presence
of serving personnel is therefore not a
prerequisite to embrace this scheme.
The scheme will consider applications from local
groups for projects that meet the overall aims of
the Scheme. It is likely that matched funding by a
local authority or local group will be encouraged.
Each application for funding will have to be
submitted jointly by at least one Armed Forces
Community party to the Community Covenant
(such as a Service unit, a veterans’ group, or a
families’ organisation) and at least one non-Armed
Forces Community party (such as a Local Authority
or service provider, or a commercial organisation).
£30m of Government funding has been
allocated over the next four years to support the
Community Covenant scheme.
Picture: Harland Quarrington, Crown Copyright/MOD 2010
BFBS Now in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham
The British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS), which provides TV and radio
for troops stationed around the world, has recently extended its radio service
in the UK to deliver its unique output to Service personnel in the Queen
Elizabeth hospital in Birmingham.
Injured British Forces troops are automatically transferred from Afghanistan
to Birmingham’s Selly Oak and then on to the brand new Queen Elizabeth
hospital for treatment.
Until now it has not been easy for those in hospital to stay in touch with
friends and colleagues still in theatre and others scattered around the world.
Through its national DAB service and its many overseas stations BFBS Radio
has plugged that gap. With the help of Premier Telesolutions, who provide the
bedside entertainment system in the hospital, BFBS Radio is now available as a
free option at every bedside.
BFBS Radio is on DAB Digital in the UK, on FM across the Forces world, on Sky
Guide 0211, Freesat 786 and online at www.bfbs.com.
HOMEPORT AUTUMN 2011 17