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-   -   Our Boys ripped off by the MoD (https://www.pprune.org/military-aviation/306134-our-boys-ripped-off-mod.html)

KNG2007 28th Dec 2007 12:15

Our Boys ripped off by the MoD
 
I had a stay at headley court a few years back,great place but it was bursting at the seam back then so I can only imagin the amount of work the RAF are puttiing in now. This govenment is happy to sit back alow charitys like H4H raise all the money without dipping their had in to help finance for the new much needed swimming Pool. It will take a long time to raise that money but at the same time the MOD is taking, sorry demanding a cut from donations becuse of tresury rules just takes the mick. Im sure this could be stopped.:ugh:







http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article622810.ece

SCROOGE MoD chiefs are making a fortune by charging forces’ charities for holding fundraising events on military land.


Warped ministry rules — exposed by The Sun today — mean do-gooders have to pay full commercial rents for their events.


In one of the worst examples, the Army Benevolent Fund was landed with a £7,000 bill for using Sandhurst for a gala — while top actress Dame Judi Dench and singer Myleene Klass gave up their time for free.


Other charities hit include the SSAFA — who help hard-up squaddies and their families — and Children In Need.


Livid soldiers are petitioning PM Gordon Brown against making charities pay the same rent as private firms for events ranging from posh dinners to sponsored bike rides and parachute jumps.



Up to a sixth of cash raised by charity events on military land in the last 18 months has gone to paying the rents — making the Treasury tens of thousands of pounds.

The Sun’s Jeremy Clarkson, patron of our Help For Heroes campaign, said: “Forces charities don’t exist to make money for shareholders — they do it for the MoD’s own people.


“If the Government has any compassion it must scrap these charges immediately.”


The online petition to the PM already has almost 1,000 signatures, including serving officers.


New Lib-Dem leader Nick Clegg last night vowed to champion the issue in Parliament.


He said: “We ask for the ultimate sacrifice from our servicemen and women yet the Government continues to treat them in this shabby and disrespectful way.”


An MoD spokeswoman said: “We charge to recover insurance, maintenance and admin fees — and cannot differentiate charities from other organisations.”


Sign the petition here http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/servicecharities/#detail

Pilot Pacifier 29th Dec 2007 13:58

Bumped and signed...

reallydeskbound 29th Dec 2007 14:40

Lets get this to the top and its worth considering as a 'sticky' for a few weeks to attract weight of numbers to this well worthy petition.
Its time the parsimonious bean counters at the MOD - there is not one who wears a uniform by the way - were read the riot act by not only our own senior commanders but by politicians of all hues.
As a commander I regularly 'choked' with anger at my inability to wave any charge inflicted on charities - whether Service or civilian - using my base to hold a function. Some mealy-mouthed civ-sec at headquarters would insist on either the the charity or myself meeting the costs of their so called 'administration' and overheads.
I have an answer to the so-called MOD spokesperson quoted above - charge those who can afford it extra if they want to hold events on MOD property and leave Service Charities alone - there is such a thing as solidarity of purpose and we in the Services, and our charities, are united in supporting those of our own who need help. I dare say spokesperson you don't wear a uniform - but I bet you read these forums regularly - if you have the 'balls' speak out and tell your masters that we are fed up with the uniformed being blamed for civil servants dictates.
to couple it all a colleague who for years has organised charitable events tells me that his application for a BBMF overflight has elicited the response for a £20 application fee to cover admin charges with no guarantee that he will be lucky - and with no refund if unsuccessful!
Rant off - petition signed :*

orgASMic 29th Dec 2007 14:59

Signed.

Surely charity begins at home.

Pontius Navigator 29th Dec 2007 15:19


An MoD spokeswoman said: “We charge to recover insurance, maintenance and admin fees — and cannot differentiate charities from other organisations
Only one word applies B:mad:S

Insurance may be a fixed expense no matter what is going on but maintenance and admin fees!

What maintenance bill can a 'small', in terms of time, function run up? If it is a question of toilets, heat, light, by all means charge a fee and that could be varied.

But Admin Fees? Any Admin is done by the people at the site and NO MONEY ever goes near them. If they are trying to offset the cost of the civil serpent who is writing out the bill for insurance, maintenance and admin fees then that is your proverbial self-licking lolipop.

For instance the Beeb wanted to do some filming and offered a small fee to do it. The civil serpent said NO, full fee or no. The Beeb then simply filmed anyway but outside the wire and without any beneficial MOD publicity. :(

ZOFO 29th Dec 2007 15:20

Signed and Bump again, Utter disgrace, I hope you have seen the half cocked response to the petition from No 10

Happy New year to all anyway from all at the Zofo Household, to all overseas Keep safe

Zofo

November4 29th Dec 2007 15:22

Good to see the Sun is publishing "new" news.....PPRuNe - 1 Oct 07

But at last it is being brought to the publics attention.

Melchett01 29th Dec 2007 15:28

Tossers the lot of them.

Signed with pleasure and bumped. This goes on until Sep 08, lets see if we can cause a bit of embarrassment in the Treasury eh?!

PS interesting to note that when it asks for your address, you have the option of leaving the box blank and selecting Armed Forces from the drop down menu below. Or so it would appear - just tried and no dice, it wants your address. So if you want to retain some vestige of annonimity or just don't want to make it easy for them to harrass you, it appears that writing 'see comment below ref Armed Forces' gets your signature accepted without giving them your home address / base.

spheroid 29th Dec 2007 16:14

Signed and bumped.


If the charity isn't going to pay for the insurance then who payes for it?

Does it comne out of the defence budget?

If it does then Id rather have some decent NVG goggles and some better flying boots and can we have some decent Nav bags that don't disintegrate after a week?

N Joe 29th Dec 2007 16:56

It's sad that I'm no longer shocked by stories like this. Signed with pleasure.

N Joe

Shack37 29th Dec 2007 18:55

Signed and up top again.
s37

VinRouge 29th Dec 2007 19:10

Wider markets Initiative. As per usual, they know the price of everything and the value of nothing. I wonder exactly how much WMI cost to set up and implement? I bet it wasnt cheap...

Da4orce 29th Dec 2007 19:24

Disgusted and duly signed :ok:

Squirrel 41 29th Dec 2007 19:51

Ah, sounds like the wonders of "Selling Into Wider Markets" all over again. What a completely appalling state of affairs, delighted to sign and happy to send back to the top.

S41

C130 Techie 29th Dec 2007 20:59

It is sad to realise that I was not surprised by this.

Signed.

matkat 30th Dec 2007 05:40

Signed. This is just so typical of Government(not only this one) I still remember getting income support during the 70s nothing seems to change.:ugh:

tezzer 30th Dec 2007 07:17

Signed, by a humbled civilian, disgraced by the way he Government treats our servicemen.

BEagle 30th Dec 2007 07:46

The greed of the civil serpents and their loathsome 'Wider Marketing Initiative' pervades everywhere these days.

Some years ago, some administrivial idiot civil serpent said that a station was expected to pay for a VC10 to appear on static display for their families' day.

The station in question? Brize Norton. Fortunately even Kelvin Rucksack told him to ram it!

We also had to fight off the civil serpents' attempts to make a Service flying club's aircraft pay the full MoD landing fees - for landing at a different Service aerodrome....... How long before stations are obliged to have 'pay and display' car parks, I wonder?

But for miserable bean-counting civil serpents to extract payment for charitable events in support of Service welfare is inexcusable.

FantomZorbin 30th Dec 2007 07:52

DCO.

Reminds me of when the MOD insisted on charging the St John's Ambulance Flight landing fees at EGUY for delivering transplant organs to Papworth - we were then open 24hrs. Flights were then moved to Alconbury where the USAF was happy to oblige FOC.:ugh:

EdSet100 30th Dec 2007 08:41

Signed and bumped


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