There is a lot of this and bouncing at a lower level and then blaming Region or Corps.……
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Is use of DTE billed back to regions? If not, then why the restriction? Seems odd.
Next they will be closing DTE because we aren’t using it.
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I bet units in Northern Ireland, the Isle of Lewis, Orkney, Shetland, the Isle of Man, Guernsey, Jersey, Gibraltar and Cyprus will love this!
And I bet large squadrons will love this!
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Use of the training area doesn’t really cost. It’s associated costs that are billed back such as messing provided, bedding, cleanup, toilets etc etc
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Iirc, unts (Regular Army units) don’t get charged for using the green bit of the training area, but for the add-ons like accommodation, toilets etc…
There’s a non-charged element where X formation (say 3rd Division) gets Y allocation of training days, and any unit from within 3 Div that books DTE is taking a piece of that Y allocation, but the bottom line of the allocation only matters if they use it up, want to book more and other units want to book it and they are within their allocation.
It doesn’t, to my memory, actually cost anyone anything.
Not what got declared to us mere mortals. OC said ‘any’ SMS event where money may be spent or claimed must have ‘business case’ attached. No template, criteria or further details provided.
As much as I do think that FOI is silly, this is exactly what you get when you start applying random rules in different places around the country, based on random bits of policy, or not based on any policy.
Make the rules clear and concise abs then there’ll be no questions to ask.
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Very much not wasted if it shows or prevents future inappropriate actions (due to any corporate embarrassment & regional inconsistencies).
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Could it have been approached another way, in this instance from the OP decision has been made by the Region COS, so is the immediate escalation path is the RC.
For a consistent Corps Wide approach a query could be raised on Valuing our People Team.
The Comdt indicated that the VA budget has some holes in it, this was discussed on the Dial In and details included in this FOI
If we were to budget for the full 28 day Volunteer Allowance entitlement promulgated in JSP 814, we would have to find over £13m. This year we budgeted £5.6m, which funds and average of 15-16 days per eligible volunteer — but this is still accounts for over 30% of the total resource bill.
Unfortunately this is an indication of how the Chain of Command is viewed by volunteers.
The only rationale explanation for going this route to start with is either no faith that an explanation will be forthcoming or fear that by challenging you will be punished one way or another.
If the Commandant wants people to start using the CoC to challenge things he first needs to create some trust in that system.
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Stop putting people in positions of power and influence who don’t really know how to manage people, let alone manage volunteers. And that applies at all levels, from OC Wings, right to the way to the boss.
Or at least start training those in positions of power to manage people better?
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Ironically it was the volunteers who were referred to as Very Roughly Trained…
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The £13m is a complete red herring as 28 days will never be claimed by everyone. Even the £5.6m is only a budget figure and not the actual expenditure (although probably not far off if they’ve planned correctly). Supporting the volunteers is always going to cost, whether through VA or other funding, so perhaps 30% is a reasonable figure.
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The comment was also that the Pay Uplift was not included in budget, so a 5% increase means a 5% decrease in available days.
Well welcome to managing a public sector organisation.
I’ve always received 7 and 8 if the travelling has meant leaving early am on start date, and arriving back late pm on end date, as I am in the coach supervising cadets.
i don’t think this is a “management of volunteers” issue - it is a “military ethos” issue.
While many at HQAC will be used to being a senior bod who dictates policy and the CoC beneath then accept it, as questioning it is insubordination/questioning authourity, CFAVs do not have that same ethos - it is within our interests (as volunteers) to question additional expectations (as those expectations often require more of our volunteered time).
I feel the CoC be that WSO, WgOC or permanent (paid) Staff can’t appreciate that CFAVs will question everything and will not simply roll over and say yes sir, with a “how high” response to the instruction “jump” attitude.
CFAVs hear “jump” and want to know the reason why, what is the reason, what does it achieve, who benefits and how does this improve or increase the Cadet experience as we have that same approach in our paid jobs as for 90% it isn’t a military environment.
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So using those figures the total RAFAC budget for the year is roughly £19m which is a complete drop in the ocean for however many billions the RAF receives. Just feels to me like someone at Air command is cutting our budget without considering the total knock-on effect to the 50,000+ cadets and staff within RAFAC. Weather its VA, flying, camps etc. it will all be affected by a smaller budget for organisation which is biggest it has been since the 70s.
My personal opinion is that budget situation should be escalated to parliament as it is a decision which affects so many young people up and down the UK.
Just a few months back the PM forced a U-turn on the 32 Sqn VIP Helicopter contract which is worth around £40m which previously they said the country couldn’t afford and now we’ve suddenly found the money just so he can fly around the UK in a luxury helicopter!!
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This was a specific camp, most camps it’s not an issue, or certainly hasn’t been in the past.