Supporting cadets and reserves during a time of Covid

Foreword

RFCA chairman David Rhodes gives his overview of 2020/21 and outlines some of the challenges overcome and the successes achieved during an unprecedented year.

Welcome to our 2021 annual report. I hope that you will find it interesting and informative. This year’s report reviews both the national and regional picture, as well as providing some inspiring personal stories to exemplify the work we do.

The last year has been one like no other. Almost no part of our work has not been significantly affected by the national Covid restrictions, and I am extremely proud of the way our staff have met the unique challenges and embraced new solutions and new ways of working.

National picture

The national picture over the past year has been marked by the myriad of reviews conducted into defence generally and the associations specifically. The Integrated Review, its associated Command Paper, and the recent Reserve Forces 2030 review sees an expanding role for reserves, a greater focus on our youth organisations, and additional tasks for the associations. More specifically for us, the Estates Review, if taken up by the MoD, could represent the largest investment in the volunteer estate for many years, and the Tailored Review, which is about to commence in its implementation, cements the associations as part of the MoD landscape for many years to come, albeit under a new legal structure.

These are exciting times to be involved in the work of our reserves and cadets, and I am confident that here in Yorkshire and the Humber, we are up to the challenge.

Reserves and cadets

Regionally, our reserves surpassed themselves in the past year, and their support to the Covid response has been widely admired and is likely to prove to be a catalyst for reserves as the force of choice for future mainland MACA tasks. Our cadets had a tougher time of it, with most face-to-face training cancelled throughout the year, but even here we have seen both adult volunteers and cadets rise to the challenge and continue to train, albeit virtually. The number of cadets restarting training recently is remarkable and is a testament to their commitment and to the hard work of the adult volunteers.

Delivering our outputs

The associations outputs have continued to be delivered throughout the pandemic, with many new and novel working methods adopted, some of which I am sure will endure. We kept the estate up and running throughout and were able to complete almost all of our planned capital and improvement projects. Our finances are sound and prudent management means we are set well for the coming year.

Continued to engage

We were also one of only a few RFCAs which continued with our engagement activities, hosting all four Lord-Lieutenant Award ceremonies virtually, bestowing more Gold and Silver Employer Recognition Scheme awards and achieving more Armed Forces Covenant signings this year than in any other. I know you will join me in thanking our dedicated staff for their contributions to this success.

July sees a welcome return to face-to-face activities for the Association, and I look forward to engaging fully once again with members in championing the cause of our reserves and cadets across Yorkshire and the Humber.

Virtutis Fortuna Comes

National picture

A summary of national developments that took place during the year that will influence the future direction of the RFCA for Yorkshire and the Humber.

The Integrated Defence Review

Published in March 2021, the Integrated Defence Review represented the most significant reconfiguration of UK defence for a generation. While not explicit on the role of reserves, reserve numbers are likely to remain similar while their role may expand.

Reserve Forces 2030

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced a new review that seeks to examine how best its reserve forces could contribute to defence. The review reported in May 2021 and envisaged an expanded role for reserves.

Estates Review

During the year, the RFCA shared detailed information about the condition, use and running costs of each of its buildings with an Army-led panel reviewing the use of the reserve and cadet estate nationally.

Tailored Review

An implementation strategy for the Tailored Review into the future of RFCAs was under development during the year, though little change was seen in the day to day operations of individual RFCAs.

Physical Employment Standards

Reserves across the region were training to meet the New Physical Employment Standards whose roll out across all personnel continued in the year for all forces. Pictured above are reserves from 4th Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment undertaking the new-style test.

We championed cadets across the region

Our cadets

Whether it was virtual cookery classes, sports challenges or courses covering anything from skippering a boat to the rudiments of flying, the Cadet Experience went online in 2020/21 to keep our young people engaged and connected while restricted to home.

Thanks to our cadet force adult volunteers, cadets were able to access a raft of virtual activities, which often took place live. However, there were limited periods of in-person training and all annual summer camps and residential weekends were cancelled.

Marine cadet Naomi lands prestigious new role

Sheffield marine cadet Naomi Thornton has taken up a new role as First Sea Lord cadet for the Eastern Area Sea Cadets 2021. The 16-year-old from the city’s Notre Dame High School was awarded the role in recognition of six years dedicated service to Sheffield Sea Cadets and Royal Marine Cadets. The highly-coveted position is given to only six of the best cadets in the country each year.

Army cadet Rosie wins top award for contribution to the Covid-19 effort

Yorkshire cadet Rosie Nelson decided to do her bit to support her local Scarborough community during lockdown and made hundreds of mask to protect key workers. In recognition, she was awarded the Gerrish Award for Outstanding Volunteering by the Army Cadet Force.

Lockdown doesn't deter Mya

Aspiring pilot, 12-year-old Mya Larder, from Kirkburton, Huddersfield, was among a number of new Air Cadets who joined 868 (Mirfield) Squadron during lockdown. And the Kirkburton Middle School pupil loved the online activities and couldn’t wait for the start of in-person training.

Our cadets in numbers

Against this backdrop, cadet numbers dipped for all but the in-school Combined Cadet Forces (CCF). This was partly due to the fact that some cadets aged out during the year and there was limited scope to recruit new ones.

Cadet numbers overall dropped by 118 or two per cent from 6,483 to 6,335 during 2020/21. However, the 40 per cent hike in CCF numbers masked the scale of the fall in cadet numbers among the community cadet forces. The proportion of female cadets remained at a third.

Measuring success

Given the challenges of the year, the normal measures of success such as attainment of Duke of Edinburgh Awards, other qualifications, attendance at camp counted for less as many cadets were restricted in their involvement with their unit. Nevertheless that so many cadets still attained external qualifications such as Duke of Edinburgh is a tribute to both their commitment and that of the adult volunteers.

Number of cadets, excluding probationary cadets, by force and year and Duke of Edinburgh Awards 2020

We supported units to recruit adult volunteers across Yorkshire and the Humber

Our cadet force adult volunteers

Cadet forces worked hard to retain adult volunteers during 2020/21, ensuring they remained engaged and up to date with mandatory training. However, with repeated lockdowns, some adult volunteers inevitably fell away, though units welcomed new recruits too with Humberside and South Yorkshire Army Cadet Force reporting nearly 100 new expressions of interest and putting in place a new training programme for those wishing to volunteer.

Support for cadets

The Sea Cadets continued to enjoy the lowest cadet to adult volunteer ratio by a considerable margin – with two cadets for every volunteer compared to six cadets for every volunteer in Yorkshire (North and West) Army Cadet Force. The Sea Cadets also stood out by having a greater proportion of female adult volunteers compared to other forces – with around half of all Sea Cadet adult volunteers being female compared to around a third in other forces.

Liz keeps cadets active during lockdowns

Humberside and South Yorkshire Army Cadet Force appointed a new sports officer and she helped cadets keep active while they were confined to home. Second Lieutenant Liz Millard studies sport at Hull University and wants to be a secondary school PE teacher. She set cadets weekly challenges to keep them motivated while they were unable to meet up physically in their units.

Tom takes up the reins in Strensall

Tom Woodall became the new cadet executive officer for Yorkshre (North and West) Army Cadet Force and is based in Strensall. First on his to-do list when he arrived in April was to introduce a new finance system including, eventually, to introduce a system like ParentPay that makes it easier for parents to pay online for things like annual camps, Duke of Edinburgh Awards and other expenses.

Richard makes his mark at new joint cadet centre

It was all change for army cadets in Beverley during the year. Not only did they get a new officer commanding, Major Richard Lenton, the RFCA’s very own employer engagement director. They were also the beneficiaries of a spanking new joint cadet centre, which they share with the town’s Air Cadets, at Wolfe Armoury.

Cadet volunteers in numbers

Number of adult volunteers by service and year

Number of cadets for every adult volunteer and percentage of female adult volunteers, by force, December 2020

We promoted the role of reserves across Yorkshire and the Humber

Our reserves

Reserves played a crucial part in the national Covid-19 response and their role not only underlined their importance to current UK defence but also presaged a potential future landscape in which their contribution in the domestic sphere is further expanded.

The RFCA tracks reserve numbers in the region on a Ministry of Defence database and reports them to the organisation’s Engagement Advisory Board.

During 2020/21, numbers remained broadly static with a slight dip in both Army and Air Force figures. Numbers of female reserves grew slightly but they still remain a small fraction of the workforce.

Yorkshire officer cadets' summer training rearranged due to Covid-19

The pandemic may have prevented them taking part in an international exercise in the Netherlands during the summer, but students from the Yorkshire Officer Training Regiment got to do socially-distanced training closer to home – with one session on the shooting ranges in Strensall.

Ochieng among RAF reserves to win promotion

Lance Corporal Ochieng Ogol, from Bradford, was among three reserves from RAF 609 (West Riding) Squadron who won promotion after a two-week course at RAF Honington. RAF Honington stages two training camps every year for reserves from across the UK . Sergeant Sid Wright, of Richmond and Corporal Alistair Thomson, of York, also passed with flying colours.

Ben deploys to support Covid effort

Yorkshire RAF reserve Ben Massey was deployed to carry out Covid-19 testing in Manchester during the year. The 29-year-old aerospace engineering graduate from Leeming, was one of three reserves from RAF Leeming’s 609 Squadron that were part of a 41-strong contingent from the RAF carrying out mass Covid testing in the North West throughout February 2021.

Number of reservists by service and year

Number and percentage of female reserves

We secured the support of employers across Yorkshire and the Humber

Civilian organisations and employers

The RFCA found new ways of developing relationships with employers on behalf of the military in 2020/21 – and achieved record-breaking results.

Covid-19 restrictions meant face-to-face meetings and networking events were out and in were online workshops and video-conferencing as our go-to methods of forging and maintaining great partnerships with the region’s employers.

Staff deployed

Indeed, with so many of our employers having reserve members of staff deployed in the fight against Covid-19, it had never been more important to keep them engaged and informed.

Adaptability was key during 2020/21 and the RFCA’s ability to change its approach to meet the Covid-19 challenge paid off. More than 150 organisations, more than ever before in a single year, signed the Armed Forces Covenant and record numbers won Gold and Silver Awards under the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS).

Forces-friendly engineering company wins Silver Award

Leading independent engineering business, Ilkley-based NG Bailey, was presented with an ERS Silver Award for its forces-friendly policies and services. Pictured are, left, Rosie Walker who is a credit controller with the company but also serves as a reserve with the Royal Engineers in Wakefield, where she is a fork lift truck driver. The firm’s head of human resources Julie Verity is pictured right.

York St John University lands a Gold

York St John University was one of eight organisations across Yorkshire and Humber that landed themselves a Gold Award. Pictured are, left, vice chancellor Karen Bryan with physical education and youth sport lecturer Simon Kumar, who is in the process of applying to be a reserve with 50 Signal Squadron.

Zoom presentation for Silver Award winners

Yorkshire and the Humber’s 18 organisations to a win a Silver ERS Award during 2020 attended at a special online presentation attended by all four Lord-Lieutenants of the region as well as representatives from the RFCA. The Silver Award ceremony is usually one of the landmark events of the year. But Covid restrictions meant the RFCA had to stage it virtually for the first time.

Armed Forces Covenant

The Armed Forces Covenant scheme is an essential way of securing support among the civilian community for the military. Under the covenant, organisations pledge to treat the forces fairly – including reserves, veterans and cadet force adult volunteers – and it is frequently the gateway to involving employers in the ERS scheme.

First virtual signing

During 2020/21, the RFCA joined forces with its counterpart in the North East – the North of England RFCA – to stage the UK’s first ever virtual Armed Forces Covenant signing ceremony.

Eleven employers from across both regions took part and, from Yorkshire, the York Coffee Emporium as well as its parent company, The Upton Group, signed the pledge.

Number of organisations signing up to the Armed Forces covenant by year

ERS Awards

The year saw more organisations than ever receive ERS Silver and Gold Awards – an indicator that, even in difficult times, civilian communities across Yorkshire and the Humber are keen to support the military.

Number of ERS Silver and Gold Award Winners by year

Silver Awards

• Adler and Allan
• Associated British Ports Humber
• Askham Bryan College
• Beyond Housing
• Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Trust
• ERS Medical
• Hambleton District Council
• Humberside Police
• Jellybean Consultancy
• LNER
• Morrisons
• NG Bailey
• Rotherham and South Humber NHS Trust
• Scarborough Borough Council
• Sheffield City Council (revalidation)
• Sheffield Mind
• South Yorkshire Police
• Wakefield Council

Gold Award winners

• Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council
• East Riding College
• Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
• Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust
• North Lincolnshire Council
• North Yorkshire County Council
• York St John University
• Yorkshire Teaching Hospitals Foundation Trust.

We provided great places to work and train across Yorkshire and the Humber

Our estate

While the pandemic inevitably caused delays to some of the RFCA’s projects, emergency repairs and statutory maintenance carried on throughout 2020/21 uninterrupted.

In total, 1,189 repairs were carried out at a cost of nearly £800,000 – and our customers were satisfied with 99 per cent of work done.

Despite Covid-related setbacks, the RFCA also delivered major, new infrastructure projects such as the development of a new army cadet centre in Barton-upon-Humber, the redevelopment of Wolfe Armoury in Beverley as a centre for both army and air cadets and the further development of Harrogate joint cadet centre.

Making a real difference

Each of these new developments will make a real difference to the quality of the Cadet Experience enjoyed by the young people based in those buildings. They will also support the new recruitment efforts once face-to-face training resumes across all units.

Another stand-out project of the year was the considerable work done to the expansive, wood-lined roof at Huddersfield’s historic drill hall. This means most of the leaks besetting the building have now, for the time being, been resolved, making for a much-improved training environment for the reserves from 4YORKS who are based there. However, work on the roof will be an on-going investment if it is not to fall into disrepair.

Document-sharing scheme

A further investment in the future was work to develop a new, online document-sharing service to enable contractors to upload and view the mandatory documents associated with each of the RFCA’s buildings on specially-created webpage. This service is due to launch in the first half of 2021/22.

Clare gets ready to welcome cadets to new Barton cadet centre

New officer commanding of Humberside and South Yorkshire’s E company, Major Clare Kirk, was able to prepare for Barton-upon-Humber’s cadets to return after the lockdowns to a spanking new, purpose-built cadet centre. The centre was old and run-down and no longer fit for cadets to use. So they will come back to a modern base that has everything needed to ensure a fantastic Cadet Experience.

Repairs bring drier times for Yorkshire reserves

Disabled support worker Jovan Chaukria, and his fellow reserves from 4th Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment could look forward to drier times at their unit base at Huddersfield Drill Hall. Thanks to an on-going programme of roof repairs, the drill hall itself is now watertight, though the historic roof will need on-going maintenance.

Second phase completed of work to upgrade Harrogate Joint Cadet Centre

The smile on the face of Clare Crebbin, officer commanding at 58 (Harrogate Squadron) says its all. After a two-year project to completely overhaul the joint cadet centre in the town’s Strawberry Dale finally reached completion. The result is not only a drill hall where cadets from both the air and army cadets can parade on their allotted nights, but also a set of first floor classrooms and office space.

Projects completed in 2020/21

• A £370,000 project to re-provision for the Army Cadet Force in Barton-upon-Humber
• A £250,000 project to remodel Wolfe Armoury in Beverley as a joint cadet centre for air and army cadets
• A £300,000 scheme to create new training accommodation for both air and army cadets within the Harrogate Joint Cadet Centre
• A £170,000 refurbishment of Maritime Reserve accommodation within Carlton Barracks, Leeds
• The part delivery of 15 bastion armouries under Project Aintree at a cost of £90,000 per armoury
• A £200,000 project to carry out repairs to the Drill Hall roof at Huddersfield
• £115,000 remodelling and renovation of a building used by 168 (City of Leeds) Squadron, Air Training Corps
• Renovation to several roofs and the kitchen area within Castleford Joint Cadet Centre at a cost of £85,000
• A £40,000 project to renovate the glass front to the drill hall at Manor Top,Sheffield
• The replacement of the whole roof on a store building within Driffield Cadet Training Centre at a cost of £65,000

Planned projects for year 2021/2022

• Refurbishment and remodelling of a further building at 168 (City of Leeds) Squadron, Air Training Corps, at an estimated cost of £115,000
• Further refurbishment of the Huddersfield Drill Hall roof £50,000
• Repairs to the Drill Hall roof at Carlton Barracks £100,000
• Replacement of a building roof at Manor Top army reserve centre, Sheffield, £150,000
• Creation of a changing area and locker room within Carlton Barracks, £70,000

We won the hearts and minds of communities across Yorkshire and the Humber

Reaching our communities

With Covid-19 restrictions, the RFCA found new and innovative ways to promote and support the cadet and reserve forces.

The aim was to maintain engagement when in-person training was on hold and to showcase the role of reservists at a time of national crisis.

Community events

With the four Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant Award ceremonies unable to go ahead in-person, the RFCA worked closely with the region’s Lord-Lieutenants to create online occasions that would be truly memorable for all award recipients – outstanding cadets, adult volunteers and reserves in each of the four counties.

The result were four 30-minute awards videos that were premiered ‘as if live’ across our social media channels at the time the in-person events would have taken place. These films were rated as ‘best in class’ by other RFCAs and gained more than 8,000 views online – a level of engagement far exceeding anything achieved in previous years.

Reserves Day

For Reserves Day, the RFCA secured regional radio coverage of reservists from 4YORKS for their involvement in the Covid-19 testing. We also ran an innovative ‘as if live’ question and answer session on Instagram featuring reserves from both the Royal Navy and British Army. Similarly, our support for the Freshers Week recruitment drive reached more than 1,000 people with over 50 choosing to take steps to get further information online about joining the Yorkshire Officer Training Regiment.

New websites

During the year the RFCA worked with outside contractors to develop a new website for the RFCA which is more secure, can showcase content more effectively and performs better across search engines. We also worked with the Council of RFCAs to develop a webpage for the Yorkshire and Humber region on the Government’s central website gov.uk.

Social media

The RFCA’s engagement increased across all platforms, despite fewer posts, though individual platforms – Twitter and Linkedin – saw small dips. This means, on average, individual posts were gaining more engagement in 2020/21 than in previous years, which is in line with good practice. Numbers of followers and friends remained broadly static across all platforms – except for Instagram, which as our newest channel, continued to see growth and saw our number of followers more than double to 760.

Behind the scenes at the HM Lord-Lieutenants' Awards

The Lord-Lieutenants for the region played their part in recording content for the 30-minute awards videos that the RFCAs developed to premiere ‘as if live’ on the nights that the in-person awards ceremonies should have taken place. The military venues hosting the filming collaborated with us to ensure all arrangements were Covid-safe and that all taking part could do so at a safe social distance.

Top Yorkshire stories get national coverage

Several stories developed by the RFCA gained national traction. A story about Ryan Shippey, pictured, qualifying as a reserve in record time was picked up by the British Army channels as were pictures of 4 YORKS training in Warcop which were used nationally by the Ministry of Defence. Guidance for cadets on handling the lockdown was shared by cadet units nationally and was one of our most successful posts of the year.

RFCA updates its branding for fresh new look

The RFCA updated its branding during the year to develop a fresh, new, modern look that could adapt more seamlessly to the demands of social media. The new branding drew heavily on the heritage of the original Yorkshire rose heraldry while incorporating a more useful colour palette.

Our membership

Our carefully selected membership remained at the heart of efforts to serve as the military’s permanent ambassador in the region.

New members since April 2020

• Coun Angie Dale – Richmondshire District Council
• Coun Bob Johnson – Sheffield City Council

New associate members since April 2020

• Terry Baynes – Chair of South and West Yorkshire Wing
• Ryan Wilson – Director, TetraTech  – New property advisory board member

Membership composition, March 2020, and statute target

Membership type	Statute target	Actual number
Services	101	86
Cadet forces	12	42
Representative	35	27
Co-opted	5	1
Total	153	156
Associate members	51	50

Financial overview

This is a summary of the RFCA's financial position for the year 2020/21, including its major sources of income and its expenditure.

Where our money comes from

The RFCA’s activities were funded by a mix of external funding and regionally generated income (RGI) with our overall income totalling £8.05 million during the year.

External sources

Around £7.27 million of external funding came from the Ministry of Defence (MOD), for employer support, Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) for properties and facilities management, and single service sources for reserve and cadet administration.

Regionally generated income

Our regionally generated income (RGI) totalled £783,072 and was largely generated through business rates rebates and lettings revenue.  This was less than the previous year and this reduction was due to a fall in income from lettings as a result of COVID 19 lockdowns.

Pie chart showing that the overwhelming part of the RFCAs money (90.3 per cent or £7,265, 347) comes from external sources, with only 9.7 per cent or £783,072 coming from income generated in the region.

---

How we spent regionally generated money

RGI expenditure is approved by the Finance Advisory Board (FAB) in line with MOD priorities and local needs.

Some £1,015,950 was spent during the financial year drawing on additional funds carried forward from 2019/20

Key notable expenditure on behalf of our region included: 

• £400,000 for re-provision at Barton ACF
• £115,000 for refurbishment at Wolfe Armoury
• £130,000 for refurbishment at Huddersfield

This pie chart shows how regionally generated income was spent during the year.

---

How we spent external funding

Projects that attracted external funding during the year were:

• £578,000 from DIO to continue the upgrading of armouries across the region to make them compliant with new regulations.
• £128,000 from (DIO) for refurbishment at 168 Sqn City of Leeds
• £80,000 from (DIO) for refurbishment at 58 Sqn Harrogate
• £190,000 from (DIO) for enhancement at HMS Ceres.

A pie chart showing how our external funding was spent

• Staff costs, £1,825,944
• Estates projects, £1,590,319
• DIO infrastructure, £ 1,206,687
• Cadet support, £169,532
• ATC support, £162,093
• ACF operating costs, £141,429
• DRM support, £110,553
• Home adaptations for injured service personnel, £100,613
• IT/comms, £80,937
• Admin/travel, £63,461
• Vehicles, £17,440
• Professional fees, £11,552
• RAuxAF support, £3,438

The year ahead

£280,000 of RGI funds was carried forward and will continue to contribute towards funding the 2021/22 programme as endorsed by the FAB.