‘More joined-up approach’ needed for army transition

FIFE COUNCIL is doing a “pretty good job” as it prepares for the transition of Leuchars from an RA F to army base from next year.

However, with hundreds of military families set to come and go from the area, Fife MP Thomas Docherty has warned that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) needs to ensure there is a “much more joined-up approach” in its dealings with the Scottish Government and local authorities.

Mr Docherty, who is a member of the House of Commons Defence Committee, made the comment as a report published yesterday — A rmed Forces Covenant in A ction? Part 3: Educating the Children of Service Personnel — warned that the MoD must resolve a conflict at the heart of the A rmed Forces Covenant in the provision of education to service children.

The covenant — the commitment made by the government to those who serve and their families — says that service children should have the same standard of and access to education as other children in the UK.

The nature of service life means that families are required to be mobile if they are to accompany the service parent. This mobility has major impact on the continuity of children’s education, in particular, parents can find it difficult to get their children into the schools of their choice.

Mr Docherty told The Courier: “The British military is in the process of reconfiguring. But there is the danger of overlooking personnel families’ children. What we need to see is a much more joinedup approach from the MoD.

“There needs to be more work between the MoD, the government and Fife Council to ensure an early understanding of what’s needed.

“That’s what the defence committee will continue to press for. There’s the equivalent of 15,000 dependents of the British Army set to move back from Germany to a variety of bases in the UK. There are also changes affecting the RA F. This is a oncein-a-generation reshuffle and the MoD needs to get it absolutely right.”

Mr Docherty said Fife Council was doing a “pretty good job”, adding: “The defence committee met with the army in March and said some positive things about Fife Council. Military families are no stranger to moving but the laydown for army families and RA F families tends to be different, with army families tending to spend longer in the one place.

“My feeling is that Fife Council is doing a good job — I’ve not heard a bad thing about them in this process — but I’m not sure if the MoD is matching that.

“The biggest challenge is crossing the border and dealing with two education systems. Efforts have to be made to make sure they are joined.”

The chairman of the committee, James A rbuthnot MP, said: “The Government should explain how it intends to resolve the conflict between the A rmed Forces Covenant, which says that service children may need special arrangements to access school places, and the School Admissions Code, which sets out a strict timetable and criteria for admissions.”

Fife Council education officers are already well under way with forward planning. Confirmation in March that the army would be coming to Leuchars was welcomed as officials looked at pupil numbers of incoming and outgoing service people and how it might impact on schools.

The MoD has also pledged its commitment to the process of detailed planning and necessary engagement with the stakeholders concerned, including councils.

The Leuchars-bound army units are stationed in Germany and are due to move to Fife from 2015.

Picture: PA. RAF Leuchars is to become an army base.