AFC0005

Written evidence submitted anonymously.

[REDACTED]

This is a brief personal experience statement regarding spousal employment:

When the Command Paper was introduced by Prime Minister Gordon Brown in 2009, it promised that spouses that were civil servants in the broader sense would be given preferential treatment to be able to transfer their career around the UK, so that they could continue their careers when their military spouse was posted.  It stated that nurses, teachers, firefighters etc. would expect the right to be able to transfer their employment around the Country when necessary by military demand.

In 2014, my wife attempted to transfer her policing career from [REDACTED] to [REDACTED] Constabularies.  None of the 3 constabularies involved accepted that the provisions in the Command Paper applied to them, despite it being clear in the Command Paper that all public servants were in scope.   

In modern society, a second income is increasingly necessary to enable serving families to afford a home of their own.  Enforcing the provisions in the Command Paper such that any civil servant that is a military spouse can be expected to be supported in moves between areas of the Country is essential to enable retention of scarce trained personnel.  Without support to the family at the heart of the Covenant, retention will continue to be a significant problem for the Armed Forces.  Spousal employment measures need to be enforced and supported more vigorously.

Whilst I have stayed in the Service, I have had to constrain my ambitions and be geographically tied because of the lack of supported mobility of my spouse as a police officer.  The twin constraints of both my own and my wife’s career have constrained advancement for us both. 

I am lucky that the part of the RAF that utilises my trade has been largely kept in the [REDACTED] area for the whole of my career so I have managed to maintain a geographic tie, at only the expense of our advancement. Others are not so lucky and have to choose between their own careers or their spouses’ careers.  This needs to change.

[REDACTED]

20th February 2025