Select Committee on Defence Written Evidence


Cadet Forces

  The Committee has requested a memorandum on the cadet forces for its Duty of Care inquiry, to include how cadets are dealt with in the Army Cadet organisations compared with those recruits (of a similar age bracket) who join the military forces and details of the welfare policy for Army cadets. This memorandum outlines the nature and structure of the Cadet Forces, before addressing the specific points raised.

THE NATURE OF THE CADET FORCES

  1.  The cadet forces are voluntary, community-based organisations promoting the personal and social development of young people. The focus is on bringing adventure and enjoyment, with a view to steering the cadets towards responsible citizenship. The cadet forces encourage valuable personal attributes and, using military themes based upon the culture and ethos of the single Services, foster confidence, self reliance, initiative, loyalty and a sense of service to others.

  2.  There are currently over 130,000 young people benefiting from the cadet organisations, supported by 23,000 adult volunteers. As with other youth organisations the cadet forces meet on weekday evenings and attendance is voluntary. When the cadets progress within the corps they are given the opportunity to attend personal development training and adventure training weekends. Annually they are given the chance to attend one or two week long camps in order to consolidate the lessons learned. The activities the young people engage in are geared towards the award of nationally recognised academic and non-academic qualifications—for example the cadet forces are the largest operating authority for the Duke of Edinburgh Award and EDEXEL's most successful partner in the delivery of the BTEC First Diploma in Public Services.

  3.  Although the cadet forces are sponsored by the MoD, the cadets are not members of the Armed Forces, and the vast majority of the instructors have no experience of the regular Services. The cadet forces are subject to all national and European legislation. As children aged 12 to 18 are the core business of the cadet forces, they are very conscious of the duty of care. When looking to develop regulations, the forces benchmark against other youth organisations and where possible take best practice from DfES and LEAs. There is also benefit from the fact that each of the four cadet forces is a vibrant youth organisation in its own right, and through a system of formal and informal meetings are keen to exchange experiences, problems and solutions.

THE STRUCTURE OF THE CADET ORGANISATIONS

  4.  The four cadet forces are the Combined Cadet Force (CCF), the Sea Cadet Corps (SCC). the Army Cadet Force (ACF) and the Air Training Corps (ATC). Each organisation is the responsibility of the parent single-Service and is financed, managed and constituted in different ways. The SCC is the most independent of the four. The relationship between the MoD and the Sea Cadet Association (the governing body of the SCC) is governed by a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA). The MOA names the SCA and the MoD as "sponsors" of the SCC. Together; they set up the Sea Cadet Council, which has full authority for directing SCC policy and strategy. The Council's chairman is the chairman of the SCA. Members are drawn from the SCA. SCC. MoD, RN and others. The sponsors allocate resources to the Board of Trustees of the SCA. MoD's involvement with the SCC is that they provide many physical resources such as boats, kit pay and some staff. Whilst MoD provides "Area Staff' for the SCC from the RN, SCC officers and uniformed instructors are civilians they are not Crown Servants. The ACF and ATC are almost entirely funded by MoD through the single-Services. Some additional money does come from charitable donations. Their staffs are appointed by MoD and their officers hold commissions in the Territorial Army and the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (Training) respectively.

  5.  CCF units are based at various schools throughout the country. They are essentially a partnership between the individual schools and the MoD. Thus the headmaster of a school may set the policy for membership of his CCF and recommend officers and instructors (generally from the staff of the school) for appointment. MoD pays the staff for undertaking certain cadet duties. MoD also provides some kit, administrative support and inspects units to ensure that they are organised and run according to regulations and policy guidelines set by MoD.

TREATMENT OF RECRUITS AND CADETS

  6.  Those recruited to the Cadet Forces are mostly aged 12 to 14 years. Most live at home, attend meetings for two hours most weeks and may stay away from home for a couple of weekend exercises or expeditions a year, and a one or two week annual camp. By the time the cadets are 16 to 18 years old, they are often in positions of responsibility over other cadets and, although closely monitored, have a large say in the choice of activities conducted within units. On reaching 18, the cadet is classed as an adult and a special set of rules apply. For example, in accordance with current legislation, they are not allowed to sleep in the same dormitory as the younger cadets and do not have unsupervised access to them.

WELFARE OF CADETS

  8.  Within all the Cadet Forces, the safety and welfare of the young people is of paramount importance. Child protection is at the core of all the regulations, and is a major part of the adult volunteer's training at every level. The adoption of the correct ethos forms one of the major elements that must be assimilated during any adult instructor's probationary period.

  9.  The MoD direction on Health and Safety and on Risk Assessment procedures is cadet specific and reviewed annually, as are the procedures for handling complaints from cadets and instructors. Changing legislation and attitudes on such topics as social inclusion, CRB disclosure, photography of children and child protection are factored into our policy regulations and practices. Regular contact with DfES, teachers' associations, schools, LEAs and our own family law specialist ensures that we maintain the correct youth emphasis in the work we do and the policies we develop.

  10.  Adult volunteers within the Army Cadet Force (ACF) are made aware of the "Safety and Responsibility Guidelines for ACF Adult Leaders", which is part of the ACF Manual, from the outset of their induction and throughout initial training. The guidelines emphasise the following factors, many of which are related to the Childrens Act 1989:

    —  Duty of Care

    —  Discipline

    —  Leadership by example

    —  The fact that the ACF forbids group punishment; corporal punishment; detention; public humiliation; and permanent confiscation of possessions

    —  How to be an independent listener

    —  Supervision

    —  How to counter physical and sexual abuse; and

    —  How to counter misuse of drugs including alcohol and tobacco.

  11.  The Cadet Training Safety Precautions Pocket book provides an on the spot reference for all ACF adults whenever they are training cadets, and summarises their particular responsibilities concerning the cadet/adult relationship and countering child abuse; Similar arrangements apply in the other Cadet Forces.

CONCLUSION

  12.  Cadets are civilians and not members of the Armed Forces. The Cadet Forces are youth organisations, with a focus on bringing adventure and enjoyment to young people with a view to steering them towards responsible citizenship. The welfare of young people is however of paramount importance within all the CFs, and adult instructors are provided with comprehensive training and guidelines emphasising the duty of care and discipline aspects.

July 2004



 
previous page contents next page

House of Commons home page Parliament home page House of Lords home page search page enquiries index

© Parliamentary copyright 2005
Prepared 14 March 2005