Army - Jpa
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Army - JPA (Army chief warns of officers on fiddle)
Concern over Army expenses fraud - Yahoo! News UK
'The incoming head of the British Army warned of widespread fraud by officers and soldiers in the economic downturn, in a letter leaked to a newspaper. Lieutenant-General Sir David Richards, who takes over as chief of the general staff in August, expressed his concern that servicemen were pilfering and abusing the Army's joint personnel administration (JPA).'
Could this mean that Dirty Percy is actually Dirty Thieving Percy. Hmmm, wonder if there is an issue with the other Services?
'The incoming head of the British Army warned of widespread fraud by officers and soldiers in the economic downturn, in a letter leaked to a newspaper. Lieutenant-General Sir David Richards, who takes over as chief of the general staff in August, expressed his concern that servicemen were pilfering and abusing the Army's joint personnel administration (JPA).'
Could this mean that Dirty Percy is actually Dirty Thieving Percy. Hmmm, wonder if there is an issue with the other Services?
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Army chief warns of officers on fiddle
Army chief warns of officers on fiddle - Times Online
The incoming head of the British Army has warned in a leaked document of widespread fraud by officers and soldiers fiddling allowances and pilfering.
Lieutenant-General Sir David Richards, who will take over as chief of the general staff in August, said troops had been caught exploiting a trust-based payments system by putting in bogus claims for expenses and allowances.
He accused some of his 94,000 men of reacting to the recession by using the system like “a cash machine”.
“I am becoming concerned over the prevalence of fraudulent behaviour as well as what I can at best describe as ‘sharp practice’ and at worst dishonesty,” he said in a letter to key commanders last week.
Previously all claims had to be signed by a senior officer but the joint personnel administration system (JPA) allows soldiers to put in claims via computer. They are checked randomly. “There are soldiers and even some officers who view JPA as a ‘cash machine’ and are processing fraudulent claims in the belief that if caught they will claim ignorance and hope to refund the monies with no further action,” Richards said.
“While this may be an acceptable excuse for a small number of our young soldiers as they develop competence on JPA, it is inexcusable for our commissioned, warrant and noncommissioned officers.”
A defence source said: “Every single sample they have looked at this year has turned up examples of fraud: journeys that never happened, entertainment that isn’t justified. Richards would not be getting involved if this wasn’t serious.”
Other sources said some soldiers and officers felt justified in padding their claims because when the £250m JPA system was introduced in April last year many soldiers and officers were badly underpaid.
Richards accused senior officers of misusing allowances for entertainment and education: “I am concerned about the abuse of allowances, in particular where individuals may not be in clear breach of the rules but are certainly in breach of the spirit or underlying intent.”
A former commander of international forces in Afghanistan, Richards is commander-in-chief UK land forces. He told all commanders to ensure that any claims were properly supervised “to protect the less virtuous from themselves”.
He added: “Petty pilfering of stationery and other commodities is another area that is not only a clear breach of our values and standards but an unnecessary drain on resources that could be better spent looking after our soldiers.” Members of the army are eligible for allowances ranging from £1.50 a day for staying in another barracks to £11,000 per child for boarding school fees if the parent is based abroad.
Officers above lieutenant-colonel are entitled to first-class travel and the use of expensive hotels. All claims must be justified and receipts must be kept for three years, but some like mileage allowance or travel do not require receipts. If a soldier or officer stays with a friend or relative instead of ina hotel, they can claim a “privately arranged rate” of £25 a night.
A senior officer said any soldier caught deliberately making false claims would be court-martialled and could face a dishonourable discharge.
Nothing to do with JPA being an ill-thought out, poorly implemented and badly designed system that inundates the untrained user with unfamiliar options, provides no help to what people can claim, compounded by a hopelessely overloaded remote 'help desk' and non-existent local advisors then? Thought not.
An average lawyer should be able to get all but the very blatent fraudsters off the hook.
The incoming head of the British Army has warned in a leaked document of widespread fraud by officers and soldiers fiddling allowances and pilfering.
Lieutenant-General Sir David Richards, who will take over as chief of the general staff in August, said troops had been caught exploiting a trust-based payments system by putting in bogus claims for expenses and allowances.
He accused some of his 94,000 men of reacting to the recession by using the system like “a cash machine”.
“I am becoming concerned over the prevalence of fraudulent behaviour as well as what I can at best describe as ‘sharp practice’ and at worst dishonesty,” he said in a letter to key commanders last week.
Previously all claims had to be signed by a senior officer but the joint personnel administration system (JPA) allows soldiers to put in claims via computer. They are checked randomly. “There are soldiers and even some officers who view JPA as a ‘cash machine’ and are processing fraudulent claims in the belief that if caught they will claim ignorance and hope to refund the monies with no further action,” Richards said.
“While this may be an acceptable excuse for a small number of our young soldiers as they develop competence on JPA, it is inexcusable for our commissioned, warrant and noncommissioned officers.”
A defence source said: “Every single sample they have looked at this year has turned up examples of fraud: journeys that never happened, entertainment that isn’t justified. Richards would not be getting involved if this wasn’t serious.”
Other sources said some soldiers and officers felt justified in padding their claims because when the £250m JPA system was introduced in April last year many soldiers and officers were badly underpaid.
Richards accused senior officers of misusing allowances for entertainment and education: “I am concerned about the abuse of allowances, in particular where individuals may not be in clear breach of the rules but are certainly in breach of the spirit or underlying intent.”
A former commander of international forces in Afghanistan, Richards is commander-in-chief UK land forces. He told all commanders to ensure that any claims were properly supervised “to protect the less virtuous from themselves”.
He added: “Petty pilfering of stationery and other commodities is another area that is not only a clear breach of our values and standards but an unnecessary drain on resources that could be better spent looking after our soldiers.” Members of the army are eligible for allowances ranging from £1.50 a day for staying in another barracks to £11,000 per child for boarding school fees if the parent is based abroad.
Officers above lieutenant-colonel are entitled to first-class travel and the use of expensive hotels. All claims must be justified and receipts must be kept for three years, but some like mileage allowance or travel do not require receipts. If a soldier or officer stays with a friend or relative instead of ina hotel, they can claim a “privately arranged rate” of £25 a night.
A senior officer said any soldier caught deliberately making false claims would be court-martialled and could face a dishonourable discharge.
Nothing to do with JPA being an ill-thought out, poorly implemented and badly designed system that inundates the untrained user with unfamiliar options, provides no help to what people can claim, compounded by a hopelessely overloaded remote 'help desk' and non-existent local advisors then? Thought not.
An average lawyer should be able to get all but the very blatent fraudsters off the hook.
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Ummm... claiming travel that never occurred has NOTHING to do with any flaws in the system, but EVERYTHING to do with persons making deliberately false claims!
Unless you are proposing that the system is so confusing that it creates false memories of going somewhere they never went?
Unless you are proposing that the system is so confusing that it creates false memories of going somewhere they never went?
GK, have you ever used JPA? Trust me, it's not so much a question of claiming for a journey that never happened, more a question of claiming the incorrect rate (for instance the number of guys that incorrectly select ODR which is twice the mileage rate of normal!), as for the rest of the allowances system, don't even get me started!
Hmmmm, how about a flat rate per diem, with a varying amount depending on what country you're in? You could call it, I don't know, a "rate" perhaps? Nice and simple, with no arguements or "confusions".
Not to defend those that deliberately set out to embezzle the tax-payer but this does look like a case of the brass back-slapping themselves by introducing JPA/Capped actuals (with obscure advice over what is within ones entitlement) in the hope of shaving £Ms off the T&S budget, and now complaining that savings targets aren't being met. At the same time, they ensure it's first-class all the way with PSOs/ADCs exploiting every loophole quicker than a Herc mate at a check-in desk....
I do wonder if this (along with the disgraceful "perks" nonsense last month) is "shaping the battlefield" for the removal of the CEA.
As for Richards getting involved..I'd of thought that getting his troops out of Snatch landrovers is a better use of his time. Clamping down on T&S and Allowances is not going to solve the chasm in the Departments finances.
Not to defend those that deliberately set out to embezzle the tax-payer but this does look like a case of the brass back-slapping themselves by introducing JPA/Capped actuals (with obscure advice over what is within ones entitlement) in the hope of shaving £Ms off the T&S budget, and now complaining that savings targets aren't being met. At the same time, they ensure it's first-class all the way with PSOs/ADCs exploiting every loophole quicker than a Herc mate at a check-in desk....
I do wonder if this (along with the disgraceful "perks" nonsense last month) is "shaping the battlefield" for the removal of the CEA.
As for Richards getting involved..I'd of thought that getting his troops out of Snatch landrovers is a better use of his time. Clamping down on T&S and Allowances is not going to solve the chasm in the Departments finances.
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Before you can submit a claim on JPA you need to obtain a Budget control form from your line manager. Once the journey has been approved then you can submit the claim. Without that approval there is no claim. How can you submit a claim without the approval of your line manager?
In the RN they still have to be signed by a senior Officer and they are ALL checked.
Previously all claims had to be signed by a senior officer but the joint personnel administration system (JPA) allows soldiers to put in claims via computer. They are checked randomly.
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Is this his first 'pitch' as CGS (Des)? If so, I think his staff officer needs to work a little harder and brief him on things like Afghanistan, recruitment & retention and morale. I'm sure the whole allowances thing is important, but is it worthy of his attention?
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I have to say that most cash machines I've used don't take most of the morning just to give you hardly anything at all. Gen Richards should be court martialling these people for having so much time on their hands that they can access JPA - if we spent less time trying to manipulate JPA perhaps we would have more time to fight the wars...
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An example of the poor JPA claim system. I recently had a one-way car hire and was instructed to hand it back to the Hire Co with a full fuel tank. Duly completed and receipt obtained. >>No facility on JPA to claim back the 'actual' of a tank of fuel. Advised by P Staff to call it a "taxi" and mention the petrol costs in the remarks. All done satisfactory insofar as my expenditure has been recovered but surely scope for a 'false claim' as no taxi was ever touched.
I am sure that many such stories exist, and in my opinion, the law should only be laid down once the 'system' is functioning correctly. My understanding is that a JPA upgrade is imminent.
I am sure that many such stories exist, and in my opinion, the law should only be laid down once the 'system' is functioning correctly. My understanding is that a JPA upgrade is imminent.
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I am sure that many such stories exist, and in my opinion, the law should only be laid down once the 'system' is functioning correctly. My understanding is that a JPA upgrade is imminent.
The problem is the system is too damned slow. I have been audited numerous times now due to JPACs inability to update the latest FSI figures at the beginning of the month. Its not as if they dont know they are going to change do they?
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And if only the tax payer knew how many man hours (££££) it takes to actually input legitimate claims. I've witnessed seniors officers scratching their heads for half a day whilst trying to figure out how to claim their entitled expenses following a couple of days of detached duty.
I'm not condoning genuinely fraudulent claims, however the allowances JSP seems to me to written to deliberately make it hard to understand.
I'm not condoning genuinely fraudulent claims, however the allowances JSP seems to me to written to deliberately make it hard to understand.
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Senior officers ?
On the fiddle??
It wasn't so long ago the RAF's Air Member for Personnel was done for soliciting in a mens' toilet. . .
I suppose that was OK, because he didn't claim expenses. God some of these people are so full of sh1t.
If fiddling is endemic, then look at the causes, put them right and THEN get all righteous.
It wasn't so long ago the RAF's Air Member for Personnel was done for soliciting in a mens' toilet. . .
I suppose that was OK, because he didn't claim expenses. God some of these people are so full of sh1t.
If fiddling is endemic, then look at the causes, put them right and THEN get all righteous.
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And as for nicking HM's biro's and paperclips........tut tut 
Dallas' links lead to this.
The Latest Fiddle Guide
Service Allowance - Main Page
Dallas' links lead to this.
The Latest Fiddle Guide
Service Allowance - Main Page
Last edited by taxydual; 23rd Nov 2008 at 21:43.
Below the Glidepath - not correcting
This is a clear and obvious smokescreen generated by the incoming CGS to shift focus from the continuing lack of support and provision of Duty of Care by the MoD. This would almost be funny if the man were not being serious, imagine being up to your nuts in bad guys in some exotic location and wondering what else the spineless maggots that pass for leaders could think up next to pi$$ you off - you would never see this one coming in a month of Sundays.
If the integrity and ethics of Officers, Warrant Officers and SNCOs can be besmirched so easily by a shiny arse pen pusher, you have to wonder what on earth the JPA system has delivered that allows such a huge breach of trust to occur. For whatever reason General Richards chooses to judge his drop-short mates by such astonishgly low standards, how on earth does he get off applying it to the entire Armed Forces? Classic Gunner Man-Management.
- and what's this? It's only a crime if you should have known better? With my scant knowledge of the Law this little known principle seems to have eluded me. Love to know what the acid test for "competence on JPA" will be. The man is a complete pimmel-kopf.
If the integrity and ethics of Officers, Warrant Officers and SNCOs can be besmirched so easily by a shiny arse pen pusher, you have to wonder what on earth the JPA system has delivered that allows such a huge breach of trust to occur. For whatever reason General Richards chooses to judge his drop-short mates by such astonishgly low standards, how on earth does he get off applying it to the entire Armed Forces? Classic Gunner Man-Management.
“While this may be an acceptable excuse for a small number of our young soldiers as they develop competence on JPA, it is inexcusable for our commissioned, warrant and noncommissioned officers.”
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Originally Posted by Two's in
Love to know what the acid test for "competence on JPA" will be.
Careless talk costs (hours of people's) lives!
I don't own this space under my name. I should have leased it while I still could
Not long after it was revealed that some £0.5m - half a Vulcan in those days, half a Tiffy in today's money - was unclaimed in T&S. Ever since I saw it my duty to keep that underclaim as low as I could
Now T&S is always seen as the easy hit. Back in the 70s - to stay here where T&S is expensive or divert to there where it is cheaper but will require more fuel to fly a second leg home.
Or the 80s with charging for stays in the mess on weekend landaways; OK, we won't go then
So is education for the Services. But education was always seen as a benefit to the individual, the Service and the country.
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Moving with the times...
For my sins I earn my crust from Oracle Apps (though not HR/Payroll). I have always scratched my (CIMA-qualified) head at the way that JPA accepts expense claims with little or no audit trail or supporting documentation.
In my Monday - Friday life I have been scanning receipts into jpg format for years now and attaching the jpg to my online claims. Oracle can do this, if properly configured. In our new DII world authorising officers can approve claims electronically. Oracle can do this too, if properly configured.
How much for a job lot of cheap scanners ? Would it need a new IPT ??
It's certainly an odd one to put at the top of the new CGS' To Do List.
FP
In my Monday - Friday life I have been scanning receipts into jpg format for years now and attaching the jpg to my online claims. Oracle can do this, if properly configured. In our new DII world authorising officers can approve claims electronically. Oracle can do this too, if properly configured.
How much for a job lot of cheap scanners ? Would it need a new IPT ??
It's certainly an odd one to put at the top of the new CGS' To Do List.
FP