Service provision for military families
November 8, 2009The government recognised in 2008 that there were problems in the way services are provided for military personnel and their families. In part, this was because relationships between military establishments and local and regional civilian authorities were not well developed. The larger bases (‘super-garrisons’) that are emerging as a result of the current defence strategy have increased the importance of effective local relationships.
The issue
Introduction
Over the last two decades, the focus of British defence strategy has shifted from the maintenance of permanent garrisons overseas, using instead expeditionary forces deployed from bases in this country. In part, this reflects changes in the geo-political landscape and changes in military technology. But in addition, it reflects a recognition that the greater stability that results from this approach is less disruptive to family life and may therefore assist with recruitment and retention of staff.
The government recognised in 2008 that there were problems in the way services are provided for military personnel and their families. In part, this was because relationships between military establishments and local and regional civilian authorities were not well developed. The larger bases (‘super-garrisons’) that are emerging as a result of the current defence strategy have increased the importance of effective local relationships.
The key challenges
The demands made by military life – not just on serving personnel but also on their families – have not always been fully recognised by civilian service providers. The distinctive nature of service needs may not be understood; and there is an assumption that, where there are distinctive needs, these will be catered for by the armed services themselves.
The longer postings associated with home-based super-garrisons have brought with them greater stability for service families. However, there remain a range of challenges that arise from the nature of military life, for service providers as well as armed forces personnel.
Education – Where families are moving regularly, children’s education can be disrupted and there is some evidence that this can lead to poor educational outcomes. Depending on the timing of moves, parents’ choice of school may be limited. In some areas, a very high proportion of children in schools close to bases come from service families. Those schools therefore have to cope with constantly changing intakes.
Housing – Most service families live away from the base and are therefore competing with the local population for access to housing. Service personnel with severe injuries may require adapted housing or sheltered accommodation.
Health – The age profile of many service families may mean that high birth rates put pressure on local maternity services. Where personnel are involved in combat, the pressures on their families can create demands for local community mental health provision.
Employment – In some areas, there are concerns that relatively unskilled relatives of serving personnel will add pressures on labour markets.
Transport – Additional traffic, much of it very heavy, can place great strain on the roads infrastructure, especially in the kinds of rural locations where military bases are typically situated.
A recent consultation exercise conducted by Ministry of Defence (MoD) showed that a number of service personnel and their families did not know or understand what is available to them or how to get it. However, it is also increasingly recognised that military bases can bring great benefits to local areas, not least because of their substantial economic impact as employers and purchasers of services.
The policy context
In 2008, the MoD issued a command paper, ‘The Nation’s Commitment: cross-government support to our armed forces, their families and veterans’. The paper outlines plans to improve the level of support given to service personnel, their families and veterans. The strategy is based on the principle that, “…those who serve must not be disadvantaged by virtue of what they do�.
The paper argues that, in the modern world, the expectations of service personnel and their families have changed:
“Those who might join the armed forces have aspirations and expectations that are higher than ever. Their families are more complex and often find it harder to accept the demands of service life. Routinely moving our forces around makes it harder for them to achieve home ownership and exercise choice in their lives.�
More frequent moves can put service families at a disadvantage in the way they access public services, it continues: “…for example, in the allocation of school places, or provision for special educational needs for their children, and in access to benefits and core NHS services.�
The paper promises a range of special entitlements for service personnel and their families:
- Key worker status, giving access to affordable homes, is to be extended for a year after discharge
- Arrangements giving access to school places are being reviewed and special educational needs (SEN) support will be uninterrupted when families move
- There will be a duty on service providers to ensure availability of flexible and affordable childcare and family services
- There is a commitment to tackle disadvantage where service overseas makes it harder for spouses and civil partners to get paid employment and maintain a national insurance contribution record, which may affect their contribution record for basic state pension as well as their access to contribution-based working-age benefits
- The government has promised to ensure there are access routes for service leavers into public sector employment.
In addition to these specific guarantees, the government is keen to ensure that there is better communication locally between military establishments and the civilian authorities. The 2006 White Paper ‘Creating Strong, Safe and Prosperous Communities’ says that local authorities and local strategic partnerships (LSPs) “should consider consulting… representatives of service personnel�. The paper also promised that the government would identify how an appropriate MoD body can be added by the Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG) to the list of statutory bodies with whom local authorities must consult in the formulation of policy.
What works
Catterick Garrison
In 2005, the MoD announced a £1 billion programme of major developments at Catterick Garrison in North Yorkshire, to be spent over 15 years. This would make what is already the British Army’s biggest base (home to about 18,500 people including dependants and non military personnel) into the country’s first super-garrison, with a population of around 25,000 by 2020. The local demographic mix is unusual, with a large proportion in the 17-55 age group, including many young single men and young families. The key issue was how to plan and manage this growth in a way that brought the least disruption and the most benefits to both army personnel and their families and to service providers.
Although increases in numbers of military personnel and their families create pressures for local service providers, there are also potential benefits to the local community:
- A number of MoD sites have been identified for release to the local council for housing development
- The garrison offers a pool of highly-skilled labour among those leaving the services
- Its purchasing power provides major opportunities for local businesses if local supply chains can be established.
Although there have been regular liaison meetings between the garrison and the local authority, it was only in 2005 that the base recognised the need for a more strategic and comprehensive approach. Its ‘Catterick Forward’ programme served as a vehicle for opening and extending discussions with local and regional partners. Reinforced by the 2008 command paper, the result has been rebranded the ‘Military Civilian Integration’ (MCI) pilot initiative.
The aims of the MCI are to ensure that servicemen, women and families have equal access to key services as laid down in the command paper and are enabled to play a full part as citizens in their communities. The MCI is managed through two main mechanisms:
- The MCI main board: This board, chaired by the garrison commanding officer, brings together the chief executives of the councils and main public agencies involved, including the Learning and Skills Council, police, fire and rescue services, LSPs and the Tees Valley joint strategy unit. Meeting every six months, the main board has adopted a thematic approach following the six work streams of the local area agreement (LAA), but also reporting against the main sub-headings of the command paper.
- The military stakeholder board: Partners in the past have found it difficult communicating with the variety of military players in each region. The army-led military stakeholder board has tackled this by bringing together a number of army and RAF sites throughout Yorkshire (also every six months) in order to present a common voice to its civilian stakeholders at the main board.
As a result of the new cooperation, partners are undertaking a variety of detailed reviews of the implications of the military presence.
- Yorkshire Forward (the regional development agency) is leading on a study of the economic impact of the defence presence locally
- An in-depth survey of traffic will also enable the partners to plan ahead and avoid congestion problems when the expansion begins
- Yorkshire Forward is also keen to develop a better understanding of the MoD’s role as a significant employer, inward investor and buyer.
The army has also looked for ways in which it can share its resources with the local community as it starts to emerge from its traditional position ’behind the wire‘.
- There is joint working with the primary care trust (PCT) – covering future delivery of primary health care provision and welfare and health support to young dependants in the garrison. They are also exploring how to give local hospital trusts access to military outpatient facilities
- The commanding officer at the garrison is on the board of governors of the local secondary school
- The Department for Farming and Rural Affairs (Defra) is talking to the garrison about sourcing more food from local producers.
- North Yorkshire Police are discussing a joint custody facility in Catterick
- Leisure facilities in the garrison are to be opened up for use by the wider community.
Project BORONA
Project BORONA, established by the MoD in 2006, was set up to oversee the relocation of military units from Germany to the UK. Its initial effort has been to transfer a NATO unit to Gloucestershire. During 2010, some 1,000 soldiers and their families from the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (HQ ARRC) in Germany will move to Innsworth, near Gloucester. This operation involves the re-settlement of a large number of soldiers and their dependants, of whom more than a quarter will be non-British. This has required continuing engagement with local agencies to plan the necessary services, including housing, health, education, welfare and local transport.
The unit will be located at a former RAF base that closed in 2006, which offers much of the essential infrastructure for the incoming families. Indeed the relocation has meant that some services (including primary schools) threatened with closure will remain. Additional housing will be needed and there are longer-term plans to build new accommodation at Innsworth if funding becomes available. In the meantime, some families will be housed at two new developments outside the area where provision has already been made for schooling and healthcare.
The re-settlement process is overseen by the BORONA project team, consisting of 14 military and civilian personnel, one of whose role is to engage with local agencies to facilitate service planning. Since 2006, the BORONA team has built contact with the council and PCT at several levels:
- High level support has come from the chief executive of Gloucestershire County Council following a meeting with the officer commanding HQ ARRC.
- There has been regular contact between BORONA and local authority officers, including schools, early years and race equality and diversity.
- There have been visits to the two primary schools and regular contact has been maintained with the head teachers.
- The BORONA team has met with the deputy director of commissioning at the PCT and is in regular contact with the member of the PCT staff who has responsibility for day-to-day liaison with BORONA.
Identifying demand has been essential for service planning. One of the team’s tasks is to collect data and determine population trends – particularly on pupil intake in local schools. A number of initiatives have catered for the needs of non-British families, including English language support and medical care.
The team’s presence and the intelligence it has collected have already made a difference to the services available:
- Planning school provision and entry – The team has estimated the number of school places (at each stage) that will be needed from 2010 and the local authority is using the data to help plan relevant schools’ intake in 2010.
- Identifying non-British children – The team has also estimated the number of non-British children entering local schools. This information should help to identify where English language support may be needed.
- Schools admission – There is a special schools admission form enabling families to apply directly from Germany. Gloucestershire maintains selective secondary education, so children can sit grammar school admissions exams in Germany.
- Planning healthcare services – At present, the PCT does not anticipate that substantial additional services will be needed for ARRC dependants, apart from NHS dental services.
- Signposting and language support – The PCT aims to ensure that British families know what health services are available and that non-British families understand the NHS and how it works. This may require some language translation services for non-British personnel accessing health care.
- Nursery places – The BORONA team and the council’s early years officer have identified the need for a nursery for under-fives at Innsworth. As a result, the MoD is building a 50-place nursery to be contracted out to a specialist nursery provider.
MCI programme, Tidworth, Wiltshire
One of the new super-garrisons under development is on Salisbury Plain. The garrison is designed to “improve the way of life for those working and living within it and the community at large. It will not only create a strong sense of military community, but will also encourage closer integration with the civilian community.�
The garrison already constitutes a major presence in the area. There are around 15,000 military personnel and some 6,000 dependants in Wiltshire. Additional ‘defence dependent’ jobs (agency staff, civil servants and contractors) make the military the largest employer in the county. Two further influxes of personnel are expected in 2009 and 2010.
Until recently, service provision for army personnel and their families was not entirely satisfactory. Examples included a lack of housing and affordable houses to buy, poorly coordinated education, poor dental facilities, patchy uneven medical facilities, limited employment options for partners and poor facilities. The MCI programme was set up to help improve these services.
The programme is designed to maximise the economic and social benefits of the military presence in the county and has five main objectives:
- to identify the changing military ‘footprint’ in the county
- to measure the economic contribution of the military to the county and the south-west region
- to enable the realignment of service provision to meet the changing needs of the military and their dependants
- to spot opportunities for regeneration and building sustainable communities in the Salisbury Plain area
- to ensure Wiltshire continues to be an attractive location for long-term investment by the MoD.
A partnership led by Wiltshire Council is delivering the programme. It includes Headquarters 43 (Wessex) Brigade, Defence Estates, South West Regional Development Agency (SWRDA), council representatives at cabinet member and chief executive level and representatives from the Wessex Association of Chambers of Commerce (private sector) and Community First (voluntary sector) in Wiltshire. The programme is managed by a coordinator (a permanent MoD civil service post), supported by a programme manager and researcher.
A study in 2008 explored the demands that the military presence made on council services and how these might change in the future. A report in 2009 identified the threats and opportunities afforded by the military presence.
Some threats:
- There could be more people with low skill levels and low economic activity rates as the number of dependants in the garrison area increases.
- Service leavers will now be entitled to affordable housing in Wiltshire, which may increase demand.
- Demands for mental health and social care services could increase because of high levels of military deployments.
- The military presence could lead to a risk of increased teenage conceptions in the area, partly because of the age of some soldiers’ wives.
Some opportunities:
- Increased demand for further and higher education (HE) from service leavers could support a ’University Challenge‘ bid to increase provision in Wiltshire.
- There is scope for increased local procurement of food by military bases
- The increase in the number of service leavers in the area will increase the skilled workforce in the area
- A larger and more stable military presence should make public transport services more sustainable and easier to plan
- Defence Estates have identified MoD land that may be released for development and therefore extra housing provision.
It was previously difficult for some service areas to see how the military presence was relevant to them; the analysis now provides a valuable tool for both the council and the MoD.
- It helps ensure that relevant service delivery plans and actions take account of the military presence and expected changes
- It is easier for all partners to strengthen military civilian integration in the county
- It provides the opportunity to share information with regional partners, such as the Government Office South West and SWRDA, through the Wiltshire Council website.
RAF Marham
RAF Marham is one of the largest and busiest stations in the RAF, employing almost 5,000 people, with an annual wage bill of around £85 million. In an otherwise largely rural district, the station exercises considerable influence on the local economy and on the demand for, and provision of, services. The base is valued not just as an employer, but also for the spending power it brings to the local economy, the business opportunities it offers to local firms, and also as a source of recruitment – many of the local council’s employees are the partners of service personnel at the base.
The station’s child population indicates its significance locally. It has an average of 100 births a year, half the local total. It is unlikely that maternity facilities at the local hospital would be maintained without this level of births. More than 90 per cent of the children at the village junior and infants’ school are connected to families on the base.
Until recently, the station’s links to the wider community were limited to ceremonial occasions. Few on the station understood the opportunities local service provision offered. A variety of service provision is available on station, but it is not exhaustive and was not well integrated with what is available through the mainstream. This led to both gaps in provision and duplication. For example, a children’s centre on the base has not been able to secure support from or involvement with the local SureStart.
As with all military establishments, RAF Marham makes a payment as the equivalent of council tax – but until recently they had no idea what services that payment entitled them to. For example, they handled their own rubbish bin collection – unaware of their rights from the council.
A combination of tactical necessity and RAF culture erected barriers between the base and the local area, residents and agencies. Security requirements imposed through the cold war and then the threats of IRA terrorism meant that the base and its personnel had to keep a low profile. Three years ago, one of the senior officers on the base initiated a systematic programme of cooperation between the base and the local community. Among other things, this included a seat on the West Norfolk Partnership, the district LSP.
RAF Marham’s presence on the LSP has helped both the base and the LSP. It has injected expertise into the LSP and helped the base develop bilateral relationships with, among others, the local college, the PCT, police and local authorities.
This reflects the two key principles underlying the station’s approach:
- There is recognition that involvement with the local community is a two-way street: RAF Marham must invest in the local community if it is to benefit from what the community has to offer
- Building productive relationships requires a community development approach.
The base has organised a ‘Pride in Marham’ campaign to help develop positive relationships between the station and the local community. Some of the activities generated by the campaign have included community clean ups and environmental education projects.
The borough is also trying to ensure that it takes into account the needs and aspirations of people associated with the base. Its second ‘Quality of Life’ survey, set for October 2009, sees a plan to increase the sample size in Marham to ensure the survey captures the views of service personnel and their families. Since the first survey in 2007, Marham’s community development team have been helping the LSP with their response to the issues raised.
There have already been a number of tangible impacts:
- RAF Marham has been granted honorary Freedom of Norwich
- The Borough of Kings Lynn and West Norfolk launched a ‘Heroes Welcome’ campaign which offers benefits to service personnel and their families through free access to a number of council amenities and discounts from a growing range of local traders.
- Access to information: the borough maintains an information point on the base to signpost personnel and their families to local services.
- Partnership officers provide a signpost to the right people to talk to about services.
- A mobile library provided by the county now visits the base – a far better option than the very limited library facilities provided on-site before.
- Improvements to the road system on the base have benefited all aspects of the business
- Minor improvements to the pavements and kerbs around the base have brought huge benefits to families.
Lessons and challenges
One of the main lessons from all this experience is the importance of reciprocity: if military bases are to benefit from links with their local community they must also invest in them.
From the perspective of local public sector agencies, the key issue is to ensure continuity. Very often the strength of the relationship between a base and the wider community is a result of the enthusiasm and commitment of one officer. A key lesson, therefore, is to ensure that the engagement of military bases with the LSP continues despite any personnel changes. The relationship needs to be institutional rather than individual.
But the impact of relatively high turnover goes beyond the contribution of individual officers. Even with the greater stability of the new garrison, service personnel may still have variety of different postings during their career. So local councils and other service providers need to undertake continuous re-marketing.
Both military and civilian partners may need persuading of the value of cooperation. This works best where there is demonstrable commitment from senior leadership – chief executives and commanding officers.
Effective joint working creates wider opportunities for economic development and regeneration and creating more balanced and stable communities in the long term. MoD may be able to identify areas of land managed by Defence Estates that could be freed into the local development framework and realise funds. Partners could plan together to resolve shortages, for example, for housing or business units, but this needs to be addressed within the regional spatial strategy.
Finally, having a post within the base liaising with service providers helps give credibility to the planning process. It also helps military personnel develop a better understanding of the opportunities (and limitations) of civilian service provision.
The military presence can make exceptional demands on district council capacity, particularly in relation to planning, LDF preparation and issues that cross district and sometimes regional borders. In some cases the additional support and understanding from regional partners, MoD and Defence Estates has been both necessary and welcome.
References and further reading
MoD (2008): ‘The Nation’s Commitment: cross-government support to our armed forces, their families and veterans’
For further information on the MCI programme and to see the research reports:
For information about SWRDA and its investment plans – highlighting joint work in the Military Civilian Integration programme and shows the MoD in Wiltshire:
The Wiltshire research, ‘Envisioning the Future’ – published in July 2009, is on the Wiltshire Council website
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