Apologies: were received and recorded
Treasurer’s Report: The Treasurer presented the accounts and expenses sheet for the year to March
2006 and reported that approximately £11,000 was currently held in Deposit and Current accounts.
Annual renewals were regularly being received from Members whose membership was due for renewal
each month, although there were a number who were either choosing not to renew or who were simply
overlooking their reminders - this is running at approximately 5% of the membership.
Some direct assistance had been given to the widow of a Member in this country and SSAFA had been
contacted to assist relatives of two members who had passed away abroad. No-one had sought to make
use of the additional services offered on the Registration Form.
The liaison between the Membership Secretary and the Treasurer was working well with regular
receipts each Saturday of new member registrations, cheques and standing order forms. The
Registration Form had been amended, recently, to allow members to choose (in addition) to pay by
standing order just once per annum (£24,.00). Although Standing Order arrangements entailed
additional work initially, they were much easier to manage at renewal and members were
encouraged to use this facility, in future. He recommended that annual subscriptions be maintained
at £24.00 (or £2.00 per month) which was agreed.
In conclusion, the Treasurer was pleased to be able to present accounts which demonstrated that
the Federation was now in a strong position financially, compared to when he took over some two years
ago. He regretted though that the pressures of his personal business affairs now meant that he had
to relinquish these duties.
A Vote of Thanks was moved by the Secretary General and it was agreed that Michael Kennedy
(Publicity Officer) be appointed as the new Treasurer.
Membership Report:
Members present were pleased to hear that Frank Rixon was now recovering
from his recent hospital admission and that membership now stood at c. 750 world-wide with new
members increasing at a rate of between 6 and 10 each week.
A Vote of Thanks was moved by the Secretary General for all the hard work and
commitment given by Frank Rixon, together with the Good Wishes of the meeting to both he and his
wife.
Publicity Officer’s Report: Michael Kennedy presented his Report and
referred to his attendance at the Veteran’s Forum and the resulting networking opportunities which
were greatly valued. He referred to opportunities to be considered in terms of MP sponsorship and
the industrial/commercial letters for sponsorship which had been the cause of much discussion at the
last AGM. He also referred to the publicity recently given to the British Armed Forces Federation
which appeared to be setting up in parallel to our organisation:
At the Veterans’ Forum Michael was able to discuss with several Senior Service
Officers, references to recent articles in the press regarding the pros and cons of any means of
representation for the Armed Forces in relation to conditions of service, especially legal and
financial. The conclusion seemed to be our Federation had a long way to go before the “top brass” and
politicians could be persuaded.
Associated Issues: General sir Michael Walker, Chief of Defence Staff,
commented before a Commons Select Committee that: “A Federation would weaken the chain of command
and undermine the effectiveness of the military.” Mr Don Touhig MP, Deputy Defence Minister and
Minister for Veterans, agreed ! (I wonder which Union sponsored Mr Touhig to become an MP? They would
say that, wouldn’t they, especially if it highlighted any incompetence in the Senior Ranks or by
Government Ministers! – comments by the Secretary General).
Michael also discussed the future possibilities of MP sponsorship with a Group Captain Andrew Ades.
He suggested that this was something to which the Federation should give some serious consideration.
He was also able to clear up an area of confusion, raised by Mr Attlesey, regarding a pension issue
related to superannuation credits. For the benefit of our Membership, both Graduated and
Superannuation deductions made during service in the Armed Forces are taken into account when
establishing the levels of the State Retirement Pension.
Advice was offered to Jimmy Lloyd, prior to an interview with his MP (Mr G Hoon).
However, as predicted, Mr Hoon was not sympathetic towards the pro-rata pension claim unless it could
be shown that contributions had been made. This is a contentious issue, of course, as the Federation
intends to demonstrate.
A request from Colin Grigg regarding the question of pro-rata pension provision
for those leaving the Armed Forces prior to 1975 - we will welcome his support as a Member and keep
him up to date. Membership details are on our Website: www.caffuk.org.uk
Agreed:
- The Secretary General be requested to pursue informal talks with the British Armed Forces
Federation, with a view to mutual assistance
- Sponsorship letters be reconsidered when the Secretary General’s Report is ready for
publication
- The Publicity Officer be thanked for his Report and his attendance at the Veterans’ Forum
Secretary General’s Report: The Secretary General expressed his thanks for
the excellent support he had received over the year from members of the Executive Committee and
stated that, in future, the AGM will be held on the second Wednesday in May at The Union Jack Club
(London), unless changes were published on the website. As in the past, only Members without an
email address will be sent copies of relevant papers through the normal postal services.
Correspondence had been received from a number of Members, explaining their
position (and thanks to the Federation) which had been most helpful and encouraging in assisting the
Secretary General to formulate a clear view of the problems which were being experienced.
Much of the Research had now been completed, thanks to the assistance of
Lauren Griffin who had been employed to assist from funds which had been made available through
membership subscriptions – it was anticipated that there was still some additional work to be
undertaken and it was hoped that Lauren could continue to assist when she returned from, holiday
in South America.
The Federation was now in membership of COBSEO (The Confederation of British
Service and Ex Service Organisations) and this had provided an opportunity for Michael Kennedy
(Publicity Officer) to attend a recent meeting and place the Federation at the forefront of
discussions taking place with regard to the future of pensions for ex servicemen. He had also been
able to liaise with ex Senior Officers of the Armed Forces and place Government representatives
and MPs on notice of our intentions.
The Secretary General drew attention to the fact that ex Servicemen, as represented
by the Federation, were the only public sector “workers” who had been consistently ignored by the
lack of pension provision by this present, and previous, Governments. His Research was now well on
the way to a Conclusion which would clearly demonstrate this. However, he was anxious not to
divulge too much, at this stage, since he was fearful less the impact may become diluted, before a
formal presentation of his Report to the MOD.
The applications for both charitable status and lottery funding had been
unsuccessful which had been very disappointing because of all the work these applications had
entailed.
The Federation had been approached by another Armed Forces Pensions Group with a
view to a merger since it appears that their efforts (and, it was believed) their finances had been
absorbed by legal fees which seemed to have benefited the lawyers, rather than its members. Whereas
the officers of the Federation were positive about the benefits of such a merger, no further
discussions had taken place.
Media reports had been positive over the last twelve months with the Secretary
General appearing in newspapers and on radio local to him in the Hampshire area. Additionally, a local
newspaper editor in Essex had also offered to print an advertisement for the Federation, as a result
of media interest. This had led to some additional enquiries about membership.
Members present were promised a Draft Report by September for their consideration,
prior to formal approaches being made to the MOD.
Agreed:
- The Secretary General be sincerely thanked for his report and for the encouragement which this
had given to the members present.
- The Secretary General be requested to pursue informal talks with the Armed Forces Pension
Group, and the British Armed Forces Federation, with a view to mutual assistance
- Members present consider where the Robin Day programme in which he interviewed the Rt Hon
James Callaghan might be found. Suggestions were made that this would have been either 1962/63 or
1974.
Date and Time of next AGM: Agreed: Wednesday 9th May 2007
The meeting closed with Members present thanking the Executive Committee, on behalf
of all Members, for all their work over the past year.
