Air Training Corps

[RayDarr]

Diginagain,
Of course the adult staff are responsible for the safety of the cadets. As are scout leaders responsible for the safety of scouts in their charge, and the GVC leaders, and so on. Should we commission all these as well then?
No, sorry, you do not need a commission in the armed forces of the crown to discharge this responsibility.
While cadets are in the charge of the ATC adult staff, the Senior RAF officer of the establishment they are visiting must ensure through Risk Assessment that those visiting his/her station remain safe. As cadets often get involved in minor tasks on stations while at camp, this could be argued to be a "Work Experience" placement, and therefore a Young Persons Risk Assessment should be carried out. These assessments should be forwarded to the parents before the work Experience begins. How many of those get completed? Not many I bet. How many Air Cadet Camp Commandants ask for them? Under the Occupiers Liability Act, visitors to an RAF unit must be kept safe by the occupier, in this case the RAF. so if a cadet has an accident on an RAF establishment, the Service, may well be liable for compensation, irrespective of the role of the ATC/CCF Adult staff.
The senior member of the RAF present at a cadet activity on a RAF station, could be a humble airman who may because of his training and knowledge see that a cadet activity is standing into danger. Even though the activity may be supervised by a VR(T) officer, who while commissioned, may not have the experience required in the activity being undertaken. the airman has the authority and duty under Health and Safety at Work law to stop the activity at once. However, the presence of a commissioned officer even though he is VR(T) may confuse the airman, and so prevent him from getting involved and stopping a potentially dangerous situation. For this reason, ATC/CCF leaders should not be commissioned into the RAF, but should be readily identifiable by cap badge, rank braid and rank title as a youth leader, who while affiliated to the RAF is not part of it.