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

[Hitback]

The following is an email I sent to the DCLG on the date show. I have requested information on the area's stated below. As you can see by entries above in this thread the MoD are also producing information for me and I should get it within the next day or so. The links provided by FW are interesting so please view them. I will keep this site and others updated on this area of interest. This is why require to keep the pressure on, please keep emailing your MP's if they've failed to sign EDM 288 or get back to your requests. Thank you to all user's of this site for your support. Outstanding

I am doing alot of background work on other area's that affect our rights to social housing, as you can see from the information below, this issue is getting a lot of coverage. We can get this disgraceful Legislation changed, but we have to keep on the backs of our Political Masters.

Good luck


Regards

Hitback



17/02/07 16:27:42

Dear Fxxxxx,

Thank you for getting back to me. I have re-worded my questions and placed them below.

Thank you for your time on this issue.

Regards

Hitback


1. I would like copies of all correspondance that DCLG has had with the MoD on the issue of;

a. Housing provisions for members of Her Majestys' Armed Forces on termination or completion of their contract.

b. Housing provisions for service leavers of Her Majestys' Armed Forces and Veterans in the Social Housing Sector.

2. All Parliamentary questions asking the DCLG about the issue of housing for service leavers of Her Majestys' Armed Forces and Veterans of the armed forces, as well as the following;

a. All replies by the DCLG to Parliamentary Questions on housing provisions to the above question (2).

b. All party groups of M.Ps who have shown an interest in the need for housing provisions for service leavers and veterans of Her Majestys' Armed Forces.

c. Minister and All Party Groups offical and unoffical, who have asked questions about the Homelessness Legislation 15.10 under 199(2) and (3) and its removal.

3. All correspondence between your department and the Ministry of Defence on the issue of Local Connection legislation and how this impacts on the provision of social housing.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

15 March 2007

Dear Hitback



Thank you for your email request of 17 February seeking information about housing for armed services leavers which we received on 17 February.

You have asked for copies of correspondence between the Department for Communities and Local Government and the Ministry of Defence about the provision of social housing for members of Her Majesty's Armed Forces on completion/termination of their contract. The Department holds the information you are seeking. However, there is a large number of documents and it would not be practicable to send them to you by email. It would therefore be very helpful if you could provide me with a postal address.

The Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 2000 obliges us to respond to requests promptly, and in any event no later than 20 working days after receiving your request. However, when a qualified exemption applies to the information, we are permitted to extend the time for response by a reasonable period. We do, of course, aim to make all decisions within 20 working days, including in cases where we need to consider whether a qualified exemption applies in respect of a request for information.

The specific qualified exemptions we are considering in relation to your request are section 35(1) (a) (the formulation or development of government policy) and section 35(1)(b) (Ministerial communications).

In your case we need to extend our response time limit by 14 working days to give us time to assess whether the public interest in withholding the information outweighs the public interest in disclosing it.

Therefore, we plan to let you have a response by 5 April. If there is a need for any further extension of time we will keep you informed.

You have also asked for all Parliamentary Questions to this Department, and replies to them, about the issue of housing provision for leavers from and veterans of Her Majesty's Armed Forces.

Parliamentary Questions, and the response to the questions, are published on the parliament website (www.parliament.uk). However, for ease of reference, I have set out below the website addresses for a number of Parliamentary Questions relating to this subject Matter:

PQ 138220 - from Michael Weir MP

http://www.publications.parliament.u...3w16.html_wqn0

PQ 162766 - from Austin Mitchell MP

http://www.publications.parliament.u...4w23.html_wqn6

PQ 49146 - from Nadine Dorries MP

http://www.publications.parliament.u...6w05.html_wqn6

PQ 55977 - from Mark Harper MP

http://www.publications.parliament.u...06052638004440

PQ 86450 - from Mark Harper MP

http://www.publications.parliament.u...06072811011259

You have also asked for information about all party groups of MPs with an interest in the need for housing provision for leavers from and veterans of Her Majesty's Armed Forces, including those who have asked questions about the Homelessness Legislation.

If, by “all party groups of MPs�, you mean those unofficial groups of MPs which have an interest in a particular topic, then I am afraid that we do not have any information relating to these. However, I am aware that a number of MPs signed an Early Day Motion (EDM) put down by Nadine Dorries MP on this subject on 27 November 2006. The EDM is no. 288 and you can find the motion and signatories to it on the Parliament website at:

http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDe...05&SESSION=885

Communities and Local Government as an organisation aims to be as helpful as possible in the way it deals with requests for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. If, however, you are not satisfied with the way in which your request has been handled or the outcome, you may request an internal review within two calendar months of the date of this letter. Information about the Department's review procedures and how to apply for an internal review of your case is contained on the Department's website at http://www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1141769

This also explains your right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision in the event that you remain dissatisfied following the internal review.

Please contact me if you have any queries about this email letter.



Yours sincerely,


Fxxxxs Wxxxxx

Senior Policy Adviser
Social Housing Management Branch
Zone 2/A4
Communities and Local Government
Eland House
Bressenden Place
London
SW1E 5DU

[Hitback]

The FOI from the MoD turned up in the Morning Poston Saturday. At a glance I've noticed the extent of in which Veterans are suffering under this Legislation. The problem is be placed firmly towards Charities, which I believe is incorrect. This is a Governmental issue and should be dealt with by Ministers. By that I mean, Changing the current legislation by removing 199(2)and(3) and investing more cash towards social housing and the area of homelessness. They could always introduce Minister Donation Day, where as they give up a days pay and exspense's, to aid homelessness charities?

I will be placing some of the information from the MoD on here over the next couple of day's. Please keep signing the petition and contacting your MP asking them to sign EDM 288.


Regards

Hitback

[bopdude]

Will do

[joglynne]

Done! Jo

Can I make a suggestion?PM one of the Moderaters here and get the title of this thread changed..that way if it is more concise about the subject matter this thread MIGHT get more viewings and support.


Incog..wife and daughter of ex Servicemen.

[punky]

Done...

[bopdude]

Originally Posted by Incognitas

Can I make a suggestion?PM one of the Moderaters here and get the title of this thread changed..that way if it is more concise about the subject matter this thread MIGHT get more viewings and support.


Incog..wife and daughter of ex Servicemen.

Well spotted teach

Well done Gavin

[Hitback]

The following question was asked by Mrs Nadine Dorries MP. The reply is by Mr Derek Twigg MP Under-Secretary of State for Defence and Minister for Veterans. The second link is a question from Nadine to Yvette Cooper MP for the DCLG. Interesting reply. At least we have got them looking at the issue of Local Connection and it's affects on service leavers.

Well done all those taking part in this very important issue.

Hitback

Derek Twigg
http://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/...2-20a.119670.h

Yvette Cooper
http://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/...397#g119671.q0

[spike7451]

Originally Posted by Incognitas

Can I make a suggestion?PM one of the Moderaters here and get the title of this thread changed..that way if it is more concise about the subject matter this thread MIGHT get more viewings and support.


Incog..wife and daughter of ex Servicemen.

Thanks Incognitas.
Hitback suggested the title &,thanks to Gavin, we've changed it to something more suitable.
Again I would like to echo Hitback's sentiments & say a big THANK YOU to you all.
Spike

[RedDragon]

Done. Ex Royal Engineers, I was 'lucky' enough to be made redundent after 20 years, without the payout God knows how I would have settled into a job and home!

[Hitback]

We really need your support on this, the Petition is going very slow http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/forceshousing/ and the EDM has gone up slowly, but I know that will take time. If your MP has not back to you then please email him/her again. http://www.britishlegion.org.uk/cont...g-513998.shtml this is a very simple system to us.

Go on show your support now. Then pass the links onto friends and family


Regards

Hitback

P.S Would you be interested in seeing the letter I sent the Queen plus the reply?

Yes!

[bopdude]

Originally Posted by Incognitas

Yes!

Ditto

[Graham M]

Signed the petition of course

[Hitback]

This is a copy of the letter I sent the Colonel and Chief of The Royal Green Jackets (Her Majesty the Queen). As you will see by the date I sent this letter a year ago and I got a reply. The issue on Homelessness amongst ex-forces personnel is being asked in the House of Commons all the time, but still they fail to address its discrimination towards our Armed Forces. The Royal Green Jackets are now the Rifles.

Regards
Hitback



Mr Nicholas Cxxxxx
16 Oxxxxx Dxxxxe Cxxxxxxs
Sxxxx
Bxxxxxxx
Sxxx 5xx

13 March 2006



Your Majesty


I am Colour Sergeant Nicholas Cxxxxxx of the 1st Battalion The Royal Green Jackets. At this present moment in time, I am off work on long term sick with a spinal injury. I am having a second operation in the near future to hopefully correct the disability and pain I’m suffering.

I followed my father into the Armed Forces, in fact the very same regiment. He completed his 22 years and I am only months away from completing mine. As a service family member, I have never called anywhere home, moving from place to place every two to three years.

I believe it is very important to keep my chain of command up to date with current issues which affect the smooth running of the military and their families’ lives. As your Majesty is the Colonel of Chief of the Royal Green Jackets, I thought it was my duty to inform you of the following issue.

The current Homelessness Legislation is being used against serving members and their families when they are looking to settle down in an area in which they have lived, but have no other family roots in the area, this is known as Local Connection. Local Councils and Housing Associations are able to place on their allocations policy the fact that military personnel and their families will not be given local connection to an area no matter how long they have lived there, unless they can prove they have a local connection to that area via family roots.


They are able to place this criterion into their allocations policy as the homelessness legislation also states this fact. I feel this criterion is offensive and discriminative to Her Majesty’s Forces. All military personnel and their families should be treated better by the government and also the homelessness legislation. I have placed a copy of the Homelessness Legislation and the Special Bulletin 2002 directly beneath this sentence.


Ex- Service Personnel 15.10 Under s.199(2) and (3), serving members of the armed forces, and other persons who normally live with them as part of their household, do not establish a local connection with a district by virtue of serving, or having served there while in the forces.


Homelessness Armed Forces
Act 2002 Special Bulletin Appendix 4, Page 135 Para 8.20 to 8.24.
The reason Act 2002 special bulletin will never work is due to the fact that whilst the housing association has to take into consideration the vulnerability of the applicant, they do not have to act on it.

At this present time all ex-service personnel who are rough sleeping in the United Kingdom are helped solely by charity organisations, the other fact is that if they don’t come from the area where they are homeless at, they will only be able to stay in sheltered accommodation for three days before being told to leave. All charities that assist ex-service personnel are trying to cure a governmental issue which should be prevented before armed forces personnel leave.

All members of the armed forces are taught to plan for future events, time appreciation. When it becomes necessary to require social housing, forward planning is not possible.
It should be in the interest of both the housing associations and the individual that permanent arrangements are in place as soon as possible. However two very important facts prevent this from ever coming to fruition.

Firstly, on your service tenancy running its full course, the family that is still in the military property will receive a county court judgement (CCJ). This will be held against that family’s name in the future.

Secondly, Housing Associations will not start to process your needs for housing until you have only 28 days remaining on your service tenancy. We are the only social group that can give the time, date and month of eviction from our dwellings. The real suffering that military families are made to endure due to the current system is a disgrace. The government and certain housing associations need to change to a fairer system of allocation.

The only way forward is for the government to change the system; this I feel, will prevent County Councils or Housing Associations from treating Armed Forces Personnel with such disdain. As the current Prime Minister once said, “We are in a changing world,� I believe he is correct in saying that however, the current system of local connection points for Armed Forces Personnel and their families stays the same. I have written several letters to the Prime Minister and have also been to 10 Downing Street to hand over a large file of evidence to prove how the current legislation affects military personnel and their families. The armed forces has set up outstanding pre-release courses, however these courses are near on useless if the trainee is unable to get housed.

I understand that the Royal Family are not permitted to get involved with the politics of running the country. This issue is about the mistreatment of your armed forces and their families, to that end I would be very grateful if this issue could be brought to the attention of the House of Lords.



Your ever obedient servant



Mr Nicholas Cxxxxxx
Colour Sergeant
1st Battalion The Royal Green Jackets


P.S Would you like to see the reply from Buckingham Palace? Once the Petition has gone over 3000 signatures I will place it on here. Don't forget to email your MP's asking them to sign EDM 288. Tell others about this thread and get them involved as well.

Hitback