HEADQUARTERS REGIONAL COMMAND
Transition Individual Planning and
Personal Development (IPPD) Newsletter
Issue 13
Published August 16
A Planning Guide to Secure Private Accommodation
Message from
Col N A Wilson
ACOS Pers
HQ Regional Command
Housing is one of the major challenges Service Leavers (SLs) face as they transition back to civilian life. This
challenge is greater if individuals have not planned or made provision for this key event during their service
career. An introduction to the importance of housing is highlighted in the Housing - Life Skills briefing which
is now being delivered to soldiers in units. To support and reinforce this important message a Transition
Information Sheet (Issue 7) has been released to provide Service Personnel (SP) with a basic Planning Guide.
This guide promotes a 3–phase approach to securing private accommodation. It identifies key factors and
considerations and places them into three categories; Preliminary Activities, Planning and Execution. This
should make the complex subject of securing future personal accommodation more understandable and
less overwhelming. It provides general information on property purchase and rental and helps SP to better
understand the housing process and signpost them to where more detailed information can be found.
Transition Information Sheet 7- A Planning Guide to Secure Private Accommodation is available on the Transition
IPPD website and is also available here. Detailed housing information is available from the Joint Service Housing
Advice Office (JSHAO).
EMPLOYMENT
Re-joining the Regular Army
The timeframe for eligible personnel to re-join the Regular Army has increased to 10 yrs since prior service for those
who left as substantive corporals and above. Details are available in 2016DIN01-114.pdf . A bespoke 2 week training
course at RTMC for rejoiners who have been out of service for longer than 6 years replaces the previous need to attend
Phase 1 training in full. Those individuals who completed Phase 1 training are now considered trained strength and
therefore eligible to re-join, even if Phase 2 has not been completed
HOUSING
The Services Cotswold Centre - Supporting Service Leavers
The Services Cotswold Centre (SCC) is located near Corsham, Wiltshire. In addition to providing short term transit
accommodation for service personnel, MOD civil servants, and entitled family members, the facility is available to
Service leavers to aid their transition to civilian life regardless of Personal Status Category (PStat Cat) or accompanied
status. Further information can be obtained from Unit Welfare Officers and 2016DIN01-056 or Mr Roy Zaman Officer
Commanding, The Services Cotswold Centre, Tel mil: 94382 4521, civ: 01225 810358. DII: [email protected], [email protected]. Information on wider housing issues on transition into civilian life can be accessed through the
Joint Service Housing Advice Office (JSHAO) website. The JSHAO liaise with the SCC to support those with a housing
need.
Taxation of Beneficial Loans
Service personnel who take advantage of MOD schemes such as:
• Forces Help to Buy Scheme (FHTB) / Long Service Advance of Pay (LSAP)
• Tenancy Deposit Loan Scheme (TDLS)
will be considered by HMRC to have received a beneficial loan if the amount is in excess of £10,000 and will incur a
greater personal tax liability. Service personnel who have or who are thinking of taking advantage of these generous schemes should be aware of this. Further information is contained within 2016DIN01-019 and on the Gov.uk
webpage here.
Accommodation
The MOD is thinking about how it provides Service Personnel with accommodation in the future. The proposals are
still in development and the Future Accommodation Model (FAM) is at an early stage. No decisions have been finalised. An outline of the FAM can be found on The Defence Intranet at link. Service families have a chance to feedback
their views on how they would like accommodation to be provided. Families can complete the AFF survey to provide
their views and feedback as a part of the consultation process. The survey is available at AFF Big Survey – Future
Housing. The MOD will be providing a survey for Service Personnel on future accommodation options which will go
live on 5 Sep 16.
Transition is the through-career offer of information, education and advice that supports Individual Planning and Personal Development (IPPD) that promotes a successful military career
and prepares Service Personnel (SP) for their inevitable return to civilian life.
Headquarters Regional Command | Transition Newsletter | Issue 13 | Page 2
Civilian Housing Briefs
The Joint Service Housing Advice Office (JSHAO) delivers housing briefings
to Service Personnel and their dependants on request by unit chains of
command. These housing briefings are invaluable to young soldiers and
the more experienced individual but offer the greatest benefit to SP who
have time whilst in Service to plan and make preparation for their future
housing needs. Further information, including the JSHAO briefing programme is available on both the Defence Intranet and GOV.UK.
WELFARE
Foreign and Commonwealth - Changes in VISA Fees 2016-17
Visa fees were increased on 6 Apr 16. The headline indicative increases
which may impact on F&C Service personnel are:
• Visit visa to increase from £85 to £87.
• A Leave to Enter Visa (on a route to settlement) to increase from £956 to
£1195.
• Settlement (ILR/ILE) to increase from £1500 to £1875.
Details at https://visa-fees.homeoffice.gov.uk/y
Welfare Matters publication
The latest edition of the Welfare Matters newsletter, (Edition 30 dated Jun
16) is now available. The newsletter is aimed at both Commanders and J1/
G1 welfare staff at formation, garrison and unit level. It is deliberately short
and aims to focus on welfare policy, delivery changes and associated issues.
The next edition of Welfare Matters will be published during Sep 2016.
Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS)
Armed Forces dependants paying the HIS remains an outstanding issue
for the Home Office Armed Forces Policy Team. Until it is resolved applicants who are subject to immigration control and wish to join their serving
spouse / partner will have to continue to pay the surcharge at the point of
application and claim a refund from the Home Office once they are in the
UK. Information is available at
PS4A Unit Guide To Supporting Non British Nationals and http://www.aff.
org.uk/bigsurvey/
East Midlands and East Anglia
HQ 7th Infantry Brigade and HQ East
Essex is part of the South East Gateway; Leicester boasts the
largest distribution park in Europe, the UKs second largest freight
airport and a growing manufacturing centre.
• Norwich University Hospital and SERCO provide Soft and Hard
FM support which they promote through their NHS “Step into
Health” information day.
The South West
HQ South West
Unit Transition & Life Skills Briefings
HQ SW offers Transition and Life Skills briefings to units within
the south west region in direct support of the G1SI assurance programme. Briefs can be tailored to suit any audience from Comd
Groups to G1 Study Periods to all unit personnel. In addition, SO2
Transition HQ SW will be visiting units throughout the SW with
G1SI Teams during both Liaison Visits and Inspections. To book
a unit brief or for further information contact SO2 Transition HQ
SW, Tel: 94342 2322 or email: 1ARTYXSW-MCI-TRANS-SO2
Higher Futures.
Higher Futures is a skills development programme which supports the workforce in Swindon and Wiltshire to gain higher level
skills and qualifications (NVQ level 4, HND, Degree and above).
Business led, with a focus on Service Leavers, spouses & veterans
the programme supports many of the top companies in the area,
including Nationwide Building Society and Porton Biopharma.
Higher Futures can help Military personnel and Veterans to build
on existing qualifications and experience in order to achieve civilian recognised higher level qualifications. Higher Futures is led
by the Swindon and Wiltshire LEP with Swindon Borough Council
and Wiltshire Council jointly responsible for delivery. For more
information call 01225 756174, email [email protected],
visit www.higherfutureshub.co.uk or Twitter @higherfuturesuk
Major developments in the southwest region
Major developments in the southwest region that will offer future
opportunities for employment are:
The East Midlands and the East Anglia is an attractive location to settle
with reasonable house prices and unemployment rates being some of the
lowest in the country. Regional employment opportunities include:
• Greater Lincolnshire has a diverse range of industries including logistics,
farming, tourism and engineering.
• Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire have a thriving Rail industry supporting
the HS2 project. Work has started on a large multi-million pound logistics
unit Derby Commercial Park on the outskirts of Derby which will offer
employment opportunities in the future.
• Northampton has a high concentration of High Performance Technology
Companies with effective trade links with India, China and Japan. Corby
Housing has New Build Housing Opportunities providing some opportunities to the service veteran community.
• Cambridge hosts world class research facilities. The surrounding market
towns support agriculture and the food and drink business sectors comprising some 700,000 jobs and 60,000 enterprises.
• Hertfordshire locates the National Express Depot near Stansted. They are
keen to employ Veterans and they have Army Reserves within their staff.
Bristol Logistic Unit Development.
A £43m development of warehousing and logistics units is
planned for on a recently purchased 20-acre site in Bristol. Developer Stoford will construct three buildings totalling 400,000 sq ft
of warehousing which is scheduled for completion in spring 2017.
The site is part of Delta Properties’ 350-acre Central Park scheme
and is adjacent a new £90m, 1.2 million sq ft regional distribution
hub for The Range, also being developed by Stoford. http://www.
stoford.com/2016/06/shed-specialists-join-forces-on-43m-schemeat-central-park-bristol/
Devonport Marine Industry Hub.
Designs for the £7.8million first phase of buildings in Devonport’s
South Yard have been submitted with office buildings and industrial units planned for the Oceansgate site, destined to become
a world-class hub for marine industries. http://enterprisezones.
communities.gov.uk/enterprise-zone-finder/oceansgate/
Headquarters Regional Command | Transition Newsletter | Issue 13 | Page 3
STCW Training UK Ltd Expansion – Paignton.
STCW Training UK Ltd have expanded into the west country with a new base in Paignton. Operating from the Paignton Enterprise Centre,
STCW Training has excellent access to water based training facilities and superb connections with Torbay’s Harbour Authority and the Torbay
and South Devon Marine sector. For information Telephone: 01752 393260 or email: [email protected]
Ecotricity to Build Hybrid Renewable Energy Park in Devon.
Ecotricity has received planning consent to build one of the country’s first hybrid energy parks in Devon, in the form of a new sun park in Bulkworthy, Torridge, right next to its existing Galsworthy wind farm. https://www.ecotricity.co.uk/our-green-energy/our-green-electricity/the-sun/
sun-parks-gallery/bulkworthy-devon
Transition Forecast of Events 2016 – 17
(Published Aug 16 – Version 2)
Date
Event
Location
Sponsor
Remarks
13/10/16
Transition & Employment Fair
Stadium of Light (tbc)
HQ 4 Inf Bde & HQ NE
SO2 Transition
01748 872056
26/06/16
Transition Fair
Thiepval Bks
HQ 38(Irish) Bde
SO2 Transition
02892 269906
28/06/16
Transition: Local Education &
Employment Fair
Forth Valley College
Stirling
HQ 51 Inf Bde & HQ Scotland
Forth Valley College
SO2 Transition
0131310 3759
13/09/16
Living & Working in East
Midlands
Skyways Conference
Centre
RAF Wyton
HQ 7 Inf Bde & HQ East
SO2 Transition
0115 95702513
20/09/16
South Coast Employment (&
Transition Fair)
Ageus Bowl,
Southampton
CTP
HQ 11 Inf Bde and HQ SE
Book via CTP
SO2 Transition
01252 347775
04/10/16
Housing Brief
Kinloss
JSHAO/HQ 51 Inf Bde & HQ
Scotland
SO2 Transition
0131310 3759
05/10/16
Housing Brief
Faslane
JSHAO/
HQ 51 Inf Bde & HQ Scotland
SO2 Transition
0131310 3759
06/10/16
Housing Brief
Leuchars
JSHAO/
HQ 51 Inf Bde & HQ
Scotland
SO2 Transition
0131310 3759
06/10/16
Local Job Fair
Rugby ARC
4 Para
PSAO
01788 541587
13/10/16
Housing Brief
Rosyth
JSHAO/
HQ 51 Inf Bde & HQ Scotland
SO2 Transition
0131310 3759
13/10/16
Local Job Fair
Dudley ARC
Royal Yeomanry
PSAO
01952 632933
20/10/16
Local Job Fair
Coventry ARC
37 Sig Regt
ROSO
01527 599332
27/10/16
CTP Employment Fair (and
Transition Event)
East Anglia
CTP
Book via CTP
17/11/16
Employment & Transition Fair
International Centre,
Telford
1000-1500 hrs
CTP
HQ 11 Sig & WM Bde
Book via CTP
SO2 Transition
01952 673667
24/11/16
SE Transition Fair
Edward Brookes
Barracks, Abingdon
HQ 11 Inf Bde and HQ SE
SO2 Transition
01252 347775
26/01/17
Transition Fair
Thiepval Bks, Lisburn
HQ 38 (Irish) Bde
SO2 Transition
02892 269906
09/02/17
North Wales Transition Fair
Wrexham
HQ 160 Inf Bde & HQ Wales
SO2 Transition
01874 613290
24/05/17
South West Transition Fair
Tidworth
HQ SW
SO2 Transition
01980 650322
Bookings through CTP can be made by telephone 0203 162 4410 or https://www.ctp.org.uk/events
Additional Transition events and details will be added periodically. For up to date information refer to:
www.army.mod.uk/Welfare & Support/Transition