If the story that the initiative has been forced on the services by the Treasury us true
Yes it is. However, Comd
PR staff should advise on the
PR value of an activity to enable any charges to be abated.
It not only applies to Media; but also to any use of the Goverment Estate - including Sqn/Stn charity events
The fact that a charity (Service or other) is to be a beneficiary of an event is not sufficient justification to introduce a more favourable charging regime or to set charges aside. There are no special arrangements for the treatment of charities and to avoid public funds being channelled into Non-public accounts, a donation to charity can only be made once the MOD has recovered its costs.
"Exploiting Oppotunities": A Guide to Allowing the Occasional Use of the Ministry of Defence Estate for Social, Recreational and Commercial Purposes
A key element of the Moral Component of Fighting Power is public support for the Armed Forces. Even though the public may not support the political reasons for a specific conflict it is important to the servicemen and women risking their lives that the public supports them. As the RAF engagement strategy highlights, the participation of Service personnel in charitable events helps place the Services in the public eye (for good things). However, the Government seems to want to cripple us by placing such punative measures on our engagement with our public. The manderins' argument that this is not 'core business' is flawed - this is about the maintenance of the moral component and is about as 'core' as you get.
rant over