geoffrey
MIA

Where's the long-promised LSAP increase announcement then? LSAP is mentioned twice in the 2007 report, but no increase is proposed.
Para 1.15 says:
And Para 4.4 says:
Two points from these extracts:
1. So the AFPRB clearly recognise that £8500 barely pays for stamp duty on an average house these days, and needs to be increased. Why haven't they, then?
2. What's so special about Royal Marines that they need help with House Purchase but Royal Naval personnel (and soldiers and airmen) don't? This is ridiculous bias - or if it isn't - why include "house purchase" as a consideration in this section of the report?
I had heard, from all sorts of people, that this year there was going to be an announcement to increase LSAP from £8500 to £30,000 (I think), of which £10000 had to be paid back. The remaining £20000 was free money, but you'd lose entitlement to Boarding School Allowance (or whatever not-very-catchy thing its called now), GYH packages, plus a few other perks, and attract a return of service. This would have been much better than any FRI for bootnecks in retention terms, and allow everyone in the Forces to get a decent house as a First Time Buyer.
So where is it, then? Is this the reason the report was delayed by 3 weeks compared to last year? Did Tony Blair not want members of the Forces choosing to live where they want and possibly endanger his electoral chances nationwide? I smell a New Labour rat...
THIS is a huge coverup. WHERE is the LSAP increase?
Para 1.15 says:
AFPRB 2007 said:It is clear from our visits that Service personnel have a strong focus on the need to get on the property ladder in the current market. Service life constrains this ambition and threatens retention. In this regard, personnel we met frequently commented on the Long Service Advance of Pay for house purchase – while new eligibility rules were welcomed, the level of £8,500 was universally considered insufficient.
And Para 4.4 says:
AFPRB 2007 said:MOD considered that the level of the (£10,000 new RM) FRI would reflect the value of other financial retention measures and, alongside Long Service Advance of Pay, help Marines with house purchase.
Two points from these extracts:
1. So the AFPRB clearly recognise that £8500 barely pays for stamp duty on an average house these days, and needs to be increased. Why haven't they, then?
2. What's so special about Royal Marines that they need help with House Purchase but Royal Naval personnel (and soldiers and airmen) don't? This is ridiculous bias - or if it isn't - why include "house purchase" as a consideration in this section of the report?
I had heard, from all sorts of people, that this year there was going to be an announcement to increase LSAP from £8500 to £30,000 (I think), of which £10000 had to be paid back. The remaining £20000 was free money, but you'd lose entitlement to Boarding School Allowance (or whatever not-very-catchy thing its called now), GYH packages, plus a few other perks, and attract a return of service. This would have been much better than any FRI for bootnecks in retention terms, and allow everyone in the Forces to get a decent house as a First Time Buyer.
So where is it, then? Is this the reason the report was delayed by 3 weeks compared to last year? Did Tony Blair not want members of the Forces choosing to live where they want and possibly endanger his electoral chances nationwide? I smell a New Labour rat...
THIS is a huge coverup. WHERE is the LSAP increase?