I suppose it depends how you look at that £5M, one off lump or annual budget?
The former spend and be done.
The latter you could give squadrons and wings an annual grant of say £4.5K pa and ditch VA. For each to use how they see fit, with the caveat only £1K pa could be ‘saved’ for a big spend. It could be used for fuel at a decent rate, staff expenses, staff course fees, cadet camp fees, as well as kit, equipment etc. It could be used to put the fun back with free / low cost trips, socials etc, not having to overly worry about the cost.
it has to be a very real concern if the only way HQAC really think that they can motivate staff is with a random, many strings attached payment scheme, then there is something seriously wrong. Paying people to motivate them is a flawed system and as I think we see to degrees across the country doesn’t work and hasn’t worked for ages.
Why is it with this payment more people aren’t joining us as staff and taking up the uniform route and looking to be a Sqn Cdr and getting a higher rate? The idea of looking how the Scouts operate wrt group leaders and adult helpers in general might not be such a bad idea. How does it go, “steal with pride”. I know a few “Scout” leaders who have been doing it for over 70 years man/boy and woman/girl, in senior roles. Not many of them in the Air Cadets, some might get to 50 years, but over that unlikely to be in a “lead” role.
@steve679 Don’t you think that younger staff should be picking up the baton and doing things and learning for the future, rather than have older staff? I don’t recall seeing very many older staff around when I was a young member of staff, but then there wasn’t as many, as the upper age was 55 for uniform and many said their good byes at that point. The only reason that there are more, older staff around is because the upper age of 55 was removed a few years ago as it was considered discriminatory. But as now one of the “senior” in age and experience, I feel it’s time to take the foot off the right pedal and do what I want to do, rather than chasing around trying to do it all. I know a few older than me who still do lots, but they don’t have a family or like several, divorced or widowed, so more time on their hands.
WRT to things in general, a concern should be from a cursory browse of the “ask the team”, the number of times RC(N) uses a phrase such as “command board / RAF / MoD decision”, accompanied with “RAF / MoD unlikely to change”, Is pretty bleak in a more dynamic world. What relevance does the ACMB have in any of the decisions and are they only allowed to move the toys around the box, rather than play with them? Ergo any suggestions to them about changes etc are IMO falling on stony ground if they aren’t able to effect changes and we are too entwined in MoD/RAF politics for anything to actually change to our benefit (this is the crucial word) that isn’t purely cosmetic.