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Visit Report RAF Honington

Housing a key concern and isolation a worry for some

RAF Honington recently played host to the RAF Families Federation. The first Unit Liaison Visit to the Station gave an invaluable opportunity for RAF personnel and their families to meet the Federation staff and to raise issues of concern with them.

During the visit it became clear that there were concerns about the standard of some Service Family Accommodation (SFA) and it was highlighted that problems such as communications with the main housing agencies led to further frustration for some families. Jenny Ward, the Federation Issues Manager said “Yet again, the issue of housing has been raised to us. It is clear that improvements have been made but there needs to be more work done in certain areas”.

As the Federation is still in its first year of operation, the team was keen to meet with serving personnel and their families to inform them of their role, their independence from the RAF and the unrivalled opportunity they have to represent the views of families to senior RAF staff and Ministers. The purpose of the visit was to raise awareness of the Federation and let serving personnel and their families know what the team is doing to try to improve life in the RAF.

Following a very pleasant evening with key Personnel staffs in the Mess, the Federation team then spent a day with OC PMS and the Service Community Support Officer, who had kindly arranged a packed programme of meetings. The team welcomed the opportunity to spend nearly an hour with the Acting Station Commander, who gave a comprehensive overview of the issues that have an impact on life at Honington. A windscreen tour around the Station and local SFA gave the team a better understanding of the type of accommodation that is available and a visit to one of the Contact Houses clearly demonstrated that the Station staffs responsible for managing these facilities are committed to making life better for Service families at Honington.

An informal briefing to Service personnel and family members in the Community Centre led to a number of issues being raised, which the Federation will be looking in to. During this session, it was apparent that concerns existed about the distance between certain sections of the SFA estate and the Station and this, coupled with the lack of regular local public transportation, meant that some families felt isolated at times. These concerns were discussed during lunch in the Coffee Bean cafe with the Community Support staffs, who were able to give details about some of the welfare projects that are underway which will enhance the facilities available and hopefully alleviate some of these problems.

The RAF Families Federation would like to thank the Station Commander and his team for arranging an extremely worthwhile and informative visit.
If we missed you during our visit, or you have an issue that you think we should know about, please let us know via the website, Click here or call us on (01780) 781650.

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