Memorandum from the SSAFA Forces Help
SSAFA Forces Help has read the Surrey Police
Report with interest, and generally agree the conclusions, although
some of the factors concerning personal welfare support of recruits
in Army training establishments were, understandably, not fully
examined.
It should be noted that, unusually, considering
SSAFA Forces Help expertise and specialised knowledge in of personal
support to service personnel, and its particular duty under its
Royal Charter, that the Association has not yet been specifically
consulted by MoD Army in these matters.
Prior to 1997, HQ Land Command, which has administrative
responsibility for Army training establishments, took the line
that, within the overall duty of care, personal "welfare"
support of recruits was the responsibility of the local chain
of command principally through Army Chaplains and Medical officers,
supported by civilian members of WRVS.
Thereafter it was proposed that; in addition,
support would be available by uniformed Army Senior NCOs of the
newly formed Army Welfare Service. Initially these Army personnel
were professionally supervised by fully qualified and experienced
Social Workers employed by SSAFA Forces Help.
Following a major reorganisation by HQ Land
Command of the Army Welfare Service, by December 2000, all the
SSAFA Social Workers were removed from Land Command, and declared
redundant.
The principal reason for this was that HQ Land
Command wished all "welfare" support to personnel within
its' remit to be under control and management within the military
chain of command. It was considered the involvement of SSAFA Forces
Help's independent, professionally qualified Social workers was
not necessary, and not compatible with the military organisational
model.
We accepted this decision, but considered that
it was not only inconsistent with MoD overall policy (Armed Forces
Overarching Personnel Strategy), and very different from the practice
of the RAF and RN, but also represented a dichotomy within the
Army. By contrast, in 1996 the Adjutant General (Head of Army
Personnel) had asked SSAFA Forces Help to provide a telephone
Confidential Support Line, with the objective of providing an
easily accessible point of contact for Army personnel with personal
problems, including Equal Opportunities issues such as bullying
and discrimination. The Confidential Support Line was emphatically
to be independent of the military chain of command, fully confidential,
and staffed by specially trained non-military personnel with appropriate
experience and skills. This facility, operated by SSAFA Forces
Help, remains in place, and is extremely well used, although we
should point out that its effectiveness is critically dependent
upon both the awareness of potential users of both its existence,
and nature, and their ability to access it discreetly.
SSAFA Forces Help wishes strongly to emphasise
that it does not seek to criticise the Army jtself. We have little
direct knowledge of the internal processes of military training
establishments, except that it must be obvious that to turn young
civilians into self reliant and effective soldiers must involve
a degree of unique discipline and rigour. This is clearly essential
and admirable. We have no significant general evidence of what
could be construed as unreasonable bullying or maltreatment of
trainees, nor that the training staff are anything other than
highly professional and properly motivated. lt seems that where
problems occur, this is mainly at a junior level of interaction,
and that inexperienced new recruits may be highly inhibited, if
not practically prevented, from communicating with higher levels
of command, and indeed other sources of help. (We have given evidence
on this previously to HCDC in November 2000.)
It remains obvious, however, that a minority
of trainees, even following rigorous selection procedures including
psychological screening, may react unfavourably to what is, after
all, a potentially traumatic experience of transition within a
very short period of time. This is exacerbated by the relative
level of physical and mental maturity of young people, and is
therefore unsurprising.
Clearly a balance must be struck between duty
of care for those who, sometimes only temporarily, may be in distress,
and the imperative to maintain a fighting force, which in short
order will need to pass competently into the way of danger on
operations.
SSAFA Forces Help would wish to highlight a
number of issues:
1. All young people undergoing military
training should be treated as a special case for availability
of personal and emotional support. In some cases this support
may need to be followed up beyond the training phase.
2. Such support needs to be discreetly provided
by professionally qualified and experienced staff, to include
Social Workers. This is particularly important in the matter of
initial assessment of presenting problems, and especially in the
case of more vulnerable individuals (eg Care Leavers).
3. Such professional support must be truly
independent, in both practice and management, from the employer
(and hence military chain of command), and particularly in the
perception of the individual potentially at risk. Individuals
and, if needed, families and friends, must have unimpeded access
to an independent listening service (ie the Confidential Support
Line). Access includes both awareness of availability, discreet
nature and repute, as well as ready availability and privacy of
telephone/E mail.
4. The Terms of Reference of the HCDC inquiry
indicate consideration of the need for independent oversight of
Armed Forces recruit training. While SSAFA Forces Help is not
qualified to comment on this proposition overall, we believe that
independent oversight and management of the elements pertaining
to personal welfare support of individuals within training is
not only essential but practical within our own direct experience.
It is highly important that commanders responsible for military
training and operations are not hindered in their expert task,
and should not feel threatened by unwarranted external constraint.
This is not the same however as their being given competent and
discreet independent advice on essential aspects of personal and
emotional support of trainees within their command responsibility.
It is our long standing and consistent experience that this is
feasible. Furthermore, we strongly believe that the only way to
ensure proactive and preventative personal support to individuals
is for this to be conducted by professional practitioners who
are of clear standing, but without rank, and not within the military
chain of command. Thus they are not inhibited from communicating
promptly and directly with the responsible commander at the appropriate
level, nor open to coercion.
5. YOUNG PERSONS
JOINING THE
ARMED FORCES
AFTER LEAVING
CARE
This is a special category of recruits who will
find themselves in training establishments, and it is strongly
emphasised that these should neither be stigmatised, nor should
it be supposed that potential problems are exclusive to them as
a group, but by law they demand particular consideration.
The Children Act 1989 and its underlying principles
provide the overall legal framework. The Children (Leaving Care)
Act 2000 aims to improve the life chances of young people living
in and leaving Local Authority Care, and lays duties and powers
on Local Authorities to provide support until the young person
reaches at least the age of 21. In some cases, such as education
or training, however, this can continue until the age of 24.
The Children Act gives Local Authority Social
Services Departments (LASSD) the right to request help in discharging
these obligations. Voluntary organisations are not under a duty
to provide services. However, LASSD are encouraged to liaise with
such organisations in their areas to make use, where appropriate,
of any aftercare services they may offer.
We are not aware that the MoD has a policy or
Single Service Plan to ensure that the implications of the Children
(Leaving Care) Act 2000 are considered and/or that the needs of
Care Leavers in the Armed Forces are monitored, reviewed and addressed.
Neither is it clear to what extent MoD assumes responsibility
"in loco parentis". There does not appear to be any
formal link with LASSDs, Connexion etc, to consider Pathway Plans
or to facilitate liaison with Personal Advisors. There needs to
be an MoD policy and practice which ensures the continuity of
care for such young people as prescribed by legislation.
We believe that SSAFA Forces Help is ideally
placed, and uniquely qualified, to assist the MoD and Local Authorities
in fulfilling their statutory duties in respect of Care Leavers
by developing and delivering support services to young persons
leaving Care who join the Armed Forces. They could, in conjunction
with relevant agencies, and on behalf of the MoD, produce and
ensure adherence to best practice policies and procedures. They
could also, through an agreed protocol, act as the main contact,
provide clarity and consistency across all Local Authorities especially
in the co-ordination, management and tracking of young people
who, as members of the Armed Forces, move between Local Authorities.
6. ROYAL NAVY,
ROYAL MARINES
AND ROYAL
AIR FORCE
Due to the context of the Surrey Police Deepcut
Report, most of the above observations relate to the Army.
SSAFA Forces Help have relatively little involvement
with the training establishments of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines,
although anecdotally we are not aware of significant analogous
problems. This might be due both to the fact that numerically
each is much smaller than the Army, and their organisation, including
that of training, is quite different.
The Royal Air Force similarly, we believe, does
not have quite the same considerations as the Army, although it
trains a substantial number of young people. A Social Work and
Personal Welfare support service to RAF personnel is entirely
provided by SSAFA Forces Help. This comprises qualified and experienced
social workers serving training bases, as well as operational
stations in UK and overseas. These civilian staff are wholly managed
by SSAFA Forces Help, and work to support individuals, as well
as to support and inform as necessary the RAF chain of command,
while remaining firmly outside it. RAF commanders from the Air
Force Board downwards see this service as an essential enabling
component maintaining and delivering military capability. In summary,
this well proven service, which also supports RAF families, embraces
the principles and practices described in the earlier paragraphs.
April 2004
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