| * Two new
government backed house purchase schemes are now open to key workers
including members of the armed forces. Full details of Own Home
and My Choice Homebuy are on the Joint Service Housing Advice
Office website here
* A new web forum on recruitment
and retention has been opened by the House of Commons Defence
Committee. They want to hear from people currently serving, those
who have recently left and from families with recent experience
of service life. People can post their views in confidence at
www.parliament.uk/defcom
* The Service Personnel Command
Paper has been opened up to individual views and comments about
service life. Service personnel, families and veterans can post
their views on the MOD website click
here
or write to
Service Personnel Command Paper
Zone M, 7th Floor
MOD Main Building
Whitehall
LONDON SW1A 2HB
* Under the Armed Forces Childcare
Vouchers Scheme serving parents can convert up to £243 a
month of their salary to vouchers that they can use to pay for
registered childcare. They will not pay income tax or national
insurance on the part of their salary taken as childcare vouchers.
Application packs are available from www.modchildcare.co.uk.
* A new ex-service accommodation
centre has been opened in Aldershot by SPACES (Single Persons
Accommodation Centre for Ex-Services).
Mike Jackson House, named after General Sir Mike Jackson, has
25 self contained flats and offers advice and support to homeless
service leavers on housing, training and employment. Further details
are at www.spaces.org.uk.
* The Ministry of Defence
is extending the payment of Council Tax Relief for people deployed
on operations . Troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan already
qualify for a refund of up to £140 if they are deployed
for six months. The refund will now also be available for deployments
to Bahrain, Bosnia, South Atlantic, Diego Garcia, Kosovo, Kuwait,
Oman and Qatar. Those serving on UN operations and on board Royal
Navy ships which receive the Deployment Welfare Package will also
qualify for the rebate..
The first end of tour payments will be made from 1st April 2008
and will be backdated to 1st February 2008.
* Armed Forces personnel in
England and Wales now have Key Worker status that gives them access
t a range of affordable housing options, including interest free
equity loans of up to £65000 in some cases.
Full details of the Key Worker scheme are available from the
Joint Service Housing Advice Office www.army.mod.uk/jshao
* Nominations for the SSAFA
Service Volunteer Awards are open until 11th April 2008. Nomination
details are with Hives and welfare offices or e-mail victorias@ssafa.org.uk
* A campaign to target TV
Licence dodgers has been aimed at members of the armed forces
who may also be missing out on refunds when they are posted or
deployed overseas for more than three months.
Full details on payments and refunds are available from www.tvlicensing.co.uk
* Armed Forces personnel can
now use the services of the new Service Complaints Commissioner
if they think that they have been the victim of unacceptable treatment
or behaviour in the course of their employment. Full details of
the new complaints system are in JSP 831. Online and postal access
to the Commissioner will be soon available and there is an e-mail
address for enquiries helen.buckman486@mod.uk
* The Confidential Support
Line for members of the armed forces and their families is open
from 1000 till 2230 UK time, 365 days a year. Freephone numbers
and other contact details are on the A-Z index under C and on
the SSAFA Forces Help website at www.ssafa.org.uk
* More and more companies
are now offering discounts to members of the armed forces through
the MOD’s official discount scheme. Everyone in the service
and ex-service community, including dependants and family members
is eligible to register online www.forcesdiscounts-mod.co.uk
* A new families organisation
for the Royal Air Force has been launched to provide an independent
voice for RAF Families. Based at Wittering, a team of five will
deal with enquiries from anyone in the RAF or related to someone
serving in the RAF.
www.raf-families-federation.org.uk
* The community website for
the Royal Navy and Royal Marines is attracting record numbers
of users. Families of serving personnel can also use the site
if they register with the serving person’s number and date
of birth on www.rncom.mod.uk
* An army project called
Storybook Soldiers links families in the UK and Germany to troops
on operations. A parent about to deploy can record a child’s
favourite story that can then be edited with music and sound effects
by volunteer editors so that the child can listen to it while
the parent is away from home. Further details www.storybooksoldiers.co.uk
* A new educational
website has been launched by the Ministry of Defence. Aimed at
14-16 year olds and their teachers, it is a free online resource
including lesson plans linking defence based material to key curriculum
areas. www.defencedynamics.mod.uk
* A new charity called Help
for Heroes is aiming to build a new swimming pool and gymnasium
for injured service personnel at the Headley Court Rehabilitation
Centre.
Backed by the Chief of the General Staff, General Sir Richard
Dannatt, Help for Heroes also has support from the business community,
from the national press and from a team of volunteers taking calls
from members of the public. Contact details are online at www.helpforheroes.org.uk
* A
new four day course for people leaving the armed forces has been
launched by a former Army officer. The Remount Programme is not
part of the official resettlement services but it is a not for
profit initiative to help people come to terms with life after
a military career. There is more information at www.remount.net
* The HM Forces BUPA scheme
is now offering a forces discount of 47% off their standard premiums
for private medical insurance. The scheme includes cover for MOD
civilians, dependants, partners and people serving overseas. There
is a dedicated BUPA HM Forces Office with a UK freephone on 0800
281 440. Overseas callers can call 0044 1929 477 300. Further
information can be found at www.bupa.com/hmforces
* A new life insurance policy
for members of the armed forces has been launched by the Ministry
of Defence.
Service Life Insurance will be sold by Sterling Life, in association
with the MOD and will guarantee cover for regulars and reserves
up to a maximum of £200,000 with no exclusions for war risks
or dangerous sports.
Full details are available from unit offices and from www.servicelifeinsurance.co.uk |
