Re: Please help.... Squaddies On the Streets after Serving Country!!!
 

I believe the House is open tomorrow and our Political Master will be back to work! If we could get those emails ready to send and hit them on there first day back that would be great. My understanding was, they were getting an awful lot of emails on this issue which made them sit up and listen. There are Local election coming up soon, so lets get them to back us on this issue.

The DCLG has failed to meet its dead line, I will email them tomorrow asking for the information again! If they fail to reply I will contact the complaints department.


Regards

hitback

Re: Please help.... Squaddies On the Streets after Serving Country!!!
 

This is an interesting point being made by an observer. The House of Commons resumes on the 16th of this month, so get those email ready to send.

Regards

Hitback

This is how a recent commentator described the predicament of a significant number of ex-service personnel who find themselves without any affordable accommodation on leaving the services. The homeless predicament often leads onto jobless status because of their homeless status and in time the break up of their marriage.
Many are young service personnel who have been discharged with mental and physical wounds and have not had time to get into the housing market but are discriminated against when applying for social housing. Service personnel on discharge are not given affinity points like civilians who gain these points for living in a particular area. Service personnel are allowed no points because of their itinerate life style, a life style imposed on them in the service of their country.
The legislation is unfair and especially so with forces personnel engaged in two wars and with an ever increasing tempo of active service operations. The British Armed Forces Federation, The Royal British Legion and the Army Families Federation are all involved with this campaign to amend the current legislation so that ex-forces personnel are given the same opportunity when applying for social housing as any civilian, no more or no less. However, until the current housing legislation is changed it is patently unfair in its present form.
We need the help of all service personnel, their family, and friends in supporting an Early Day Motion in the House of Commons in order to get the legislation changed. Please go to the Royal British Legion link at the bottom of this page, it finds your MP, writes the letter and all you have to do is send it! There is an old parliamentary saying ‘the door that squeaks gets the attention! We all need to squeak!
We need your help, go on the link or copy this and send it to family and friends. It only takes a couple of minutes.

http://www.britishlegion.org.uk/cont...g-513626.shtml

Re: Please help.... Squaddies On the Streets after Serving Country!!!
 

My intentions are to advice service peronnel on the pit falls of buying a house in the present climate. As was placed in the national papers today, some people are taking out mortgages over 9 time their earnings.

The following is something I read recently, "Ignorance is nothing to be ashamed off - But its nothing to be proud off either!

The following was sent to me today by the Shadow Defence Minister. It's the Tory Parties state of the nation report that was launched this week. As you will see they cover the area of home ownership amongst service personnel and their future look forward. The document is very long so I have placed just a small amount on here. If anyone would like the full document then please email me.


Regards

Hitback

Forces Families Mark Harper MP

In the Army, three quarters of personnel live in Army accommodation. In the ranks home ownership is just 9%.

Housing and accommodation

The Ministry of Defence currently manages 49,000 service family and 150,00single living units, making it Britain's largest property manager. The quality of this accommodation is graded on a four point scale. Most of the Service Families Accommodation (SFA) is in the top two grades. However, half of all Single Living Accommodation (SLA) is of the worst standard (see table 1). This problem has been highlighted recently by the media and, in an interview, the Adjutant General, Lt Gen Viggers said “there is still too much accommodation
which is of a poor standard, and is old and is not modern in terms of the way that is fitting for the families. In the 2006 Continuous Attitudes Survey just 40% of soldiers were satisfied with their Army accommodation.

It is not fair to expect our forces to come home from the many operations that they are being asked to undertake to accommodation that most people would find unacceptable. This problem is particularly acute in the Army, where a much higher proportion of personnel are housed in service accommodation (see table 2).

Table 1: MoD Accommodation by grade
Grade Service Families Accommodation (SFA)--Single Living Accommodation (SLA)
1 (good) 27,687 (59%)------------------------------- --- 24,254 (18%)
2 16,916 (36%)---------------------------------------------23,261 (17%)
3 2,089 (4%)------------------------------------------------22,931 (17%)
4 (bad) 139 (1%)-------------------------------------------66,836 (48%)

Total 46,831 137,282

To address this issue there are two things that need to be done. First, and most simply, the quality of accommodation needs to be improved. To be fair to the Government, some progress is being made here. Project SLAM is modernising the SLA, costing some £480 million in the first five years; a further £335 million will be spent in the years 2008/09 to 2012/139. This will upgrade a total of 13,000 single living spaces. The MoD currently intends to upgrade SFA accommodation at a rate of about 900 units a year. At these rates it
will takes decades to get the accommodation up the standards that we would expect, and they must still be maintained at this standard. A recent NAO report noted that “a significant number of Service personnel and their families are likely to be housed in poor quality accommodation for 20 years or more”. We will investigate whether the upgrading process can be accelerated, and at what cost.

The second option is to improve the proportion of service personnel who actually live in and own their own homes. At present only 9% of Army soldiers live in and own their home (compared to 18% of officers)11; 64% of other ranks in the Army have never owned their own home (just 25% for officers). Table 2 shows the proportion of each service occupying service accommodation.

Table 2: Proportion of personnel living in Service accommodation
Service Number paying accommodation charges--Total strength of service Percentage
Royal Navy 14,627------------------------------------------------------39,390 37
Army 78,902-----------------------------------------------------107,703 73
RAF 27,908-----------------------------------------------------48,730 57

The problem that personnel face is that it is very difficult to get onto the housing ladder. When accommodation is already provided, the incentive to buy a home, with all the risks that this involves is not great. However, when a colour sergeant, for example, leaves the Army at the age of 40 he or she does not want to consider getting their first mortgage. In the Continuous Attitudes Survey 37% of responding officers were either fairly or very dissatisfied
with the prospects for buying or even renting a house. This rose to 42% for other ranks. Some service families are leaving the forces and going into hostels. At present local authorities do not need to consider forces families as having a ‘local connection’ for the purposes of social housing. The Conservative Party will investigate if this system can be developed in a way that will support service personnel, but not place an unacceptable burden
on local communities.

The MoD does currently provide a Long Service Advance of Pay (LSAP) worth up to £8,500. This does not go very far in the current housing market and it has failed to keep up with the rise in house prices. This is further compounded by the fact that the LSAP cannot be used to buy properties that are then rented out. This rule is, reasonably, in place to stop personnel using the allowance for their own profit, but it also means that personnel with a high mobility can never take advantage of the scheme and make it onto the housing ladder. These rules need to be reviewed. We will look at ways in which we can encourage and support personnel to get onto the
housing ladder while still serving so that, when they do leave, they have a home and base from which they can start their new life.

Re: Please help.... Squaddies On the Streets after Serving Country!!!
 

Still no information from the DCLG, I have been informed that they will get a response to me by the 7th May. Just happens to be at the end of the Local Elections! Vote against the Labour Party and make them suffer.

Regards

Hitback

Re: Please help.... Squaddies On the Streets after Serving Country!!!
 

Is it a party related issue, sorry to be thick, were the forces service men and women better off under someone else ? Genuine question, as I said, I'm :dunce: :)

Re: Please help.... Squaddies On the Streets after Serving Country!!!
 

This thread's just reminded me... I never did get a reply from my MP to the email I sent about this :td:

Re: Please help.... Squaddies On the Streets after Serving Country!!!
 

Actually service personel have always been served poorly in this matter..By both parties across many years.

It seems that when a soldier is on the other side of the world winning battles he's a hero but as soon as he's back on home ground wounded and without work or home he's a nuisance to be shuffled away out of sight. All too many have ended up living on the streets across the last 50 odd years because of this particular hole in the social services net and because they have not always been afforded good councelling about returning to civvy street before they finish their service.It's a huge shock to single personel who've been somewhat cosseted about the realities of civilian life for 6,12,22 years by the institution that has employed them..

Re: Please help.... Squaddies On the Streets after Serving Country!!!
 

The fact that one Party is looking into the issues affecting service personnel and their families is good news. The issue about the shortage of equipment and the lack of medical care has been going on for at least 11 years plus. It's not just a Labour Party mistake, other parties have been just as neglectful in the past. However we have soldiers fighting in two conflicts at present. The mistakes that have been made in the past are coming back to bite the present government.

The one big area thats being ignored at present is mental health. PTSD will become a real big problem over the next five years. What ever government is in power requires to formulate an action plan to help sufferers.


Hitback

Re: Please help.... Squaddies On the Streets after Serving Country!!!
 

DCLG has informed me that they have posted the information, requested over three months ago!. I will up date this site on the information I recieve.

Hitback

Re: Please help.... Squaddies On the Streets after Serving Country!!!
 

Keep us posted :tu:

Re: Please help.... Squaddies On the Streets after Serving Country!!!
 

The information from the DCLG turned up today. It has lots of black pen through it, but I have noticed by some of the information that there is a consensus there needs to be changes made. Its been down to all of you that have taken part, and, I hope continue to take part in this campaign, that will force those in power to amend the legislation in due course. We all require to continue to send emails to our MPs asking them why 199(2)and (3) is so important now days, is it correct that the Immigrations Department should be permitted to take 10% of Social Housing stock. This stock is in great need for those people already resident in this country?

Regards

Hitback

P.S Some of the information I received is from web site forums.

Re: Please help.... Squaddies On the Streets after Serving Country!!!
 

As you will see from the following information there are moves a foot, however the time scale is very slow. At least someone understands that local areas with a military presents do benefit from their locations. The data that was being put together was being limited to the following locations; Aldershot (Army), Brize Norton (RAF), Catterick (Army), Colchester (Army) Plymouth (Royal Navy),, Tidworth (Army), Warminster (Army). The following location have been dispensed with; Brize Norton, Lineham, Plymouth, Portsmouth, HMS Collingwood. Their understanding is this is not such an issue with the RAF and the Royal Navy. I beg to differ, this issue affects all service personnel? They were also looking for more locations to exclude from the data being requested. Once again we see the government trying to paste over the cracks. Its very important at this early stage, that the correct number of service personnel and families being discriminated by Housing Association etc is formulated correctly, must include all locations. The other point I would like to make is, What about future locations for Super Garrisons. The local infranstructors will become hugh all built up by service families and single personnel!

Its the legislation that requires to change not pep talks to some HAs and Councils.

Plymouth has by all accounts included in the data but I'm not sure. None of the data has come with this FOI from the DCLG.


Regards

Hitback

https://www.cableforum.co.uk/images/local/2007/04/4.jpg

Re: Please help.... Squaddies On the Streets after Serving Country!!!
 

The fact that only 9% of service personnel own property, should get those in the MoD and DCLG thinking of a strategic plan to help. The current schemes are failing due to the lack of investment by those in power. I mentioned on here before about those suffering from PTSD, its now hit the news headlines that the number of service personnel suffering has increased by 50% in the past year. If these soldiers are discharged and have to arrange their own future housing needs, then there will be an increase of homeless veterans. If the Government is able to pool 10% of social housing for immigration then why not the same for medically discharged service personnel?


Hitback

Re: Please help.... Squaddies On the Streets after Serving Country!!!
 

I have 96 pages of information from the DCLG. The following is of interest and looks at the wording of the Homelessness Legislation. The first entry by the JSHAO sums up the lack of knowledge service personnel have about their future housing needs in civvie street. It would be interesting to know the % of service personnel that aren't getting out of the forces that attend the Housing Options briefings. These briefings are mostly attended by service leavers, aren't they?

That's why I believe it's very important to have a greater spread of briefings at all military locations. As said before, they could be attached to the CDT Teams that visit all military location at least once a year.

Regards

Hitback

P.S You can still sign the Petition by using the link at the bottom. Thank you.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
24 Nov 06

We come across lots of people that are under the misapprehension that Time in Service Accommodation establishes a local connection particularly at our Housing Options briefings.

This is further complicated by the fact that a minority of local authorities do acknowledge that lengthy periods in the same location qualify or at least accumulate points on Housing Needs Registers. Some will recognise time spent in SFA but only as an irregular and normally only if you have been an IO for more than 6 months.

The irony is of course that with key worker status an individual could now establish a local connection and purchase a property through NewBuild HomeBuy. A colleague who could not afford HomeBuy would leave without a local connection.

I do however have a great deal of sympathy with local authorities. The rules as they stand at present (first promulgated in DE circular 14/93) are designed to spread the load - the alternative would put huge demands on what in some cases are small local authorities

I think we should tread carefully, we run the risk of upsetting some local authorities big time and losing what little good will we currently have.

OIC JSHAO
HQ Land Command
Wilton
Salisbury
Tel: 01722'


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
H6@defence.gsi.gov.uk> 30/11/06 10:28:41 >»

I am currently gathering evidence for you , but in the interim have a look at xxxxxx attached email . It articulates the peculiarities that exist with eligibility of granting Key Worker Status that I previously discussed with you. By simple default of KW status eligibility - local connection has already been established. So I am really confused as to why accruing local connection points whilst living in an area whilst still serving, is so difficult to sustain with DCLG.

Not withstanding xxxxxxx other comments about flooding local authorities - I come back to the same point that I made during our first meeting in that this is about parity of treatment - regardless of how long somebody has to wait for accommodation to become available when they leave the Services, they should start as equal to the rest of society. In other words create a level playing field before personnel leave the Armed forces.
Suggest we meet to see how we can take this forward. What is your diary like for the 14 Dec?


AD Housing 020

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Frances Walker

Sent: 10 January 2007 17:38

Subject: Re: Local conection

Thanks for your email and sorry to take a while to get back to you. I am afraid that I did not pick up till now your offer to meet in December. I did not mean to be rude and am certainly very happy to do so now, if this would be helpful. My diary is relatively free at the moment.
I wonder whether it would help if I try to clarify the position on the allocation of social housing and local connection. I am not sure whether we are at cross-purposes to some extent.

When it comes to letting social rented housing, local authorities (LAs) must comply with part 6 of the Housing Act 1996. This was revised by the Homelessness Act 2002 -which came into effect in Jan 2003. Prior to the 2002 Act amendments, LAs could decide who qualified to go on their register. They would often impose residency qualifications, or a local connection.

As a result of the 2002 Act amendments, LAs can no longer set their own qualification criteria. Anyone is eligible to go on the housing waiting list, except certain persons from abroad and people guilty of unacceptable behaviour. However, the allocation legislation allows but does not require LAs to take into account certain factors in determining between people in the "reasonable preference" categories. The reasonable preference categories are those people who should be given priority for social housing. The allocation legislation gives examples of the sort of factors which could be taken into account, including -

"any local connection (within the meaning of section 199 [of the 1996 Act]) which exists between a person and the authority's district".

Section 199 is part of the homelessness legislation and provides -

"(1) A person has a local connection with the district of a local housing authority if he has a connnection with it -

(a) because he is, or in the past was, normally resident there, and that residence is or was of his own choice,

(b) because he is employed there

-------I believe some information may have been removed from here?

(2) A person is not employed in a district if he is serving in the regular armed forces of the Crown.

(3) Residence in a district is not of a person's own choice if -

(a) he becomes resident there because he, or a person who might reasonably be expected to reside with him, is serving in the regular armed forces of the Crown

------- I believe some information may have been removed from here?

I thought it might be worth setting out the above, so that you are clear that the definition of "local connection" in the allocations context is set out in statute - it is not simply a matter of what DCLG can or cannot sustain. This provides that service personnel do not have a local connection through employment or residence of choice, where they are serving in the armed forces. If the Government wanted to change this, a change to the primary legislation would be required.

Having said that, LAs do not have to take into account local connection in determining priorities. Where they do so, this will have to be clearly stated in their allocation scheme. Also, even if they do take into account local connection, the fact that a serviceman or woman may not be able to demonstrate that he has one -

- will not make him/her ineligible
- will not necessarily mean that he/she has no priority.

It will simply mean that he has less priority than someone who does have a local connection. However, clearly in very high demand areas this could mean that he/she has little chance of being housed until he/she has acquired such a connection (in other words until he/she has found other employment or lived there for a certain amount of time after leaving the armed forces).

I have just written to the LAs which house the larger military establishments (you kindly sent me the list) to try to find out what their allocation scheme provides, and for any data they can give me about service personnel on the waiting list and/or allocated accommodation. I am attaching copy of the letter. Hopefully, this may give some idea of the extent of the issue.

suggests in his email, there is a sound policy rationale for the local connection provisions as they relate to servicemen. In the allocations context, this is to avoid creating disproportionate pressure on waiting lists in those districts which host military bases and at the expense of other residents of the district. Any proposal to change the legislation in the allocations context could well generate strong localised opposition.

I am afraid that I am a little bit puzzled by the reference to key worker status and NewBuild HomeBuy. I am not sure how someone would establish a "local connection" in this context and, even if this were a relevant for NB HB, what effect this would have on the statutory provisions which govern local connection in the allocations context. Could you explain a bit more? I am probably being a bit dim.

Sorry for the length of this email. Look forward to hearing from you.

Frances

Frances
Social Housing Management Branch
DCLG
020

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11 Jan 07


Frances

Thank you for this. Your email confirms my understanding of the housing Act. It is item 2 of Section'199 that I am wanting to remove. Service families can be posted into an area for virtually the whole of their career so from their perspective they are fundamentally contributing to the community - Council tax , supporting and contributing towards the local economy , spouse employment, dependants in education etc. I just want a level playing field for them to accrue points as everybody else who resides and works in that locality.

I have also been collecting data which I will send later. This will give an indication of likely numbers and geographical spread.
think it would be useful for us to speak , I am free 23, 25,26 Jan

AD Housing
SpPol 020721M

Re: Please help.... Squaddies On the Streets after Serving Country!!!
 

The Petition has now ended. Thank you to all those that added their names. The EDM is now the main direction of this campaign so please email your MP asking him/ her to support our armed forces service leavers and veterans. This issue has been on the table for 30 years and those in power over that time have ignored it. We need to get this legislation changed once and for all.


Regards

hitback