THE COUNCIL OF RFCAs’ VISION

To be the enduring and essential pillar in the delivery of support for the well-being of the Reserves & Cadets and, through our effectiveness and our position in the regions, to be the independent body that represents their interests and promotes understanding between the Armed Forces and civil society

RFCA CHARACTERISTICS

• We are a Central Government Body with Crown status, set up by statute.
• We are a manifestation of the volunteer ethos.
• Our voluntary membership brings with it an unparalleled breadth of expertise and experience.
• We are tri-Service.
• We are of the regions, operating throughout the United Kingdom.
• We are a not-for-profit organisation.
• We are value for money.

RFCA VALUES

• We promote the interests of the Armed Forces.
• We champion the volunteer ethos both within and outside the Services.
• We are apolitical.
• We are independent (from the MOD and the chains of command) and autonomous (from each other); but, through our collegiate behaviour, we have national responsibility, influence and recognition.
• We support the work of third sector organisations which also contribute to the well-being of Service personnel and veterans.
• We supplement government funding through our income generation for our dependencies.

HIGHLAND RFCA MISSION

To provide support to the Reserve Forces and Service Cadet Organisations across the Highlands of Scotland in order to enhance their effectiveness, and through representation by the Association to inform and influence the wider community on issues relating to the Armed Forces-in-Society.

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES 

• Community Engagement – through its Volunteer Association Membership and Executive to raise awareness of the role of the Armed Forces in society, with particular emphasis on the Reserve Forces and youth activities of the Service Cadet movements.
• Employer Support – through SaBRE and the Regional Employer Support Group, to heighten the awareness of the Volunteer Reserve Forces amongst Employers through national, regional and local activities, meeting the requirements of the Ministry of Defence (Director Reserve Forces and Cadets) and the Council of Reserve Forces’ and Cadets’ Associations Service Level Agreement.
• Recruiting Support – to maintain close liaison with HQ 51 Scottish Brigade and Commander Recruiting Scotland to advise on and support recruiting activities throughout the Highlands of Scotland under the One Army Recruiting Policy, meeting the requirements of the HQ Land Forces/CRFCA Service Level Agreement.  In addition to foster the conditions for the recruiting of the Royal Naval Reserve, the Royal Marines Reserve and the Royal Auxiliary Air Force, and to recruit Adult Instructors for the Army Cadet Force in liaison with Battalion Commandants and HQ Land Forces (Cadets Branch).
• Cadets and Youth – to provide direct support to the Army Cadet Force, the Air Training Corps, the Combined Cadet Force, and indirectly to the Sea Cadet Corps, promoting them as national youth organisations sponsored by the Ministry of Defence.
• Estate and Facilities Management– to act as the Regional Prime Contractor for the maintenance and development of the Volunteer Reserves’ and Cadets’ estate (principally that of the Territorial Army, the Army Cadet Force and the Air Training Corps), in the Highlands of Scotland in accordance with the Defence Estates/Council of RFCA Service Level Agreement, and to provide facilities management services.
• Administration – to provide the highest standards of financial management, human resource management and administrative support to ensure that our tasks can be effectively executed.

HIGHLAND RFCA’S ORIGINS

In 1907 The Rt Hon R B Haldane MP, Secretary of State for War, founded the Territorial Force Associations.  Haldane rightly believed that, given a chance, the Regular Army would drain Territorial funds in order to finance itself.  He therefore created the County Territorial Associations which maintained the Territorial Force property, with drill halls and rifle ranges, and supplied units with much of their equipment.  These not only went some way towards protecting the Territorial Force from Regular army pillaging, but with the active cooperation of King Edward VII, swung county hierarchies solidly behind the new force.  Lord Lieutenants were ex-officio Presidents of their Associations and the Territorial Year Book of 1909 shows just how successful Haldane had been in linking landed wealth, local military experience and big employers in his Associations.  The County Territorial Associations have been renamed over the years to the Territorial and Volunteers Reserve Associations, and in 2000 to the present Reserve Forces and Cadets’ Association (RFCA).  The RFCAs now look after the interests of all the Reserve Forces and the Service Cadet organisations.  Over the years the number of Associations has diminished from one per County to the present 13 across the regions of the UK, with two in Scotland respectively covering the areas of the Highlands and Lowlands.  Highland RFCA covers the area north of the Forth-Clyde Valley excluding Glasgow and Edinburgh, north to Shetland and the Western Isles.  The raison-d’être of the TAVRA and RFCA has echoed a constant theme since their inception:

Lord Stathcona 1938: ‘Whereas command and training to be efficient must be centralised, the administration of citizen forces raised on a voluntary basis can only be efficient if it is decentralised.’

TAVRA 2000 Review: ‘of having an independent organisation of civilians, tasked to support volunteers …. to ensure the views and needs of the Volunteer Reserves were not always subordinated to the demands and priorities of the Regulars …. concluded that the requirements for continuity, consistency and stability made contracting out the organisation an unviable option’

THE ORGANISATION

The 13 Reserve Forces’ and Cadets’ Associations (RFCAs) are Crown Agencies, established by Act of Parliament under the Reserve Forces Act 1996.  Each one is a separate, independent and autonomous Tri-Service corporate body with a function to support the Reserve Forces and Cadets.  They are defined as Central Government bodies set up under the Reserve Forces Act 1996 with Crown Status.  They are authorized by Parliament through Defence Council, regulated by the Reserve Forces Act 1996 and Scheme of Associations approved by the Command Secretary, HQ Land Forces, and each receives direction from its stakeholders’ board;  there is a Financial Memorandum with HQ Land Forces.

GOVERNANCE

Governance is exercised by the Defence Council through the Ministry of Defence and the Council of RFCAs, to Highland RFCA. Funding for Highland RFCA’s activities is derived from MOD Stakeholders which include the Defence Staff, and the Service Commands (Fleet, Land Forces, and Air Command) and Defence Estates.

CONSTITUTION

Associations are individual autonomous bodies established by Act of Parliament. Each has it own Scheme of Constitution, drawn up by the Defence Council under the Reserve Forces Act 1996. These schemes last for five years, after which re-constitution must take place.

COMPOSITION OF THE ASSOCIATION

The Lord-Lieutenant of one of the twenty-two counties, cities or island groups (Aberdeenshire, Argyll & Bute, Angus, Banff, Caithness, City of Aberdeen, City of Dundee, Clackmannanshire, Dunbartonshire, Fife, Inverness-shire, Kincardineshire, north Lanarkshire, Morayshire, Nairn, Orkney, Perth & Kinross, Ross & Cromarty, Shetland, Stirling & Falkirk, Sutherland and the Western Isles) is the President of the Association and the others are Vice Presidents.

The Scheme requires a membership of up to 150 qualified local individuals who have an interest in the Reserve Forces and/or Cadets. Serving and retired officers from all three Armed Services and the Cadet Forces, together with representative members from local Councils, Education Authorities, local Employers and Employees, make up the membership of the Association.

The Membership is divided into four areas (North, North-East, East and South) and they hold two Area Meetings each per year.  There is an Annual Association Meeting at which the election of office holders takes place. All members of the Association are invited to attend.

MANAGEMENT OF THE ASSOCIATION

Day-to-day management of the Association's functions is carried out by a full-time staff based at the Headquarters in Dundee consisting of a Chief Executive and his Deputy and functional Employer Support, Communications and Recruiting Support, Estates and Facilities Management, Finance and Administration Departments.  The Sub-Office in Inverness is headed by the Assistant Chief Executive who looks after the North and North-East Areas, and there is an Estates Office in Aberdeen. Currently the appointments are held by:

COMMITTEE STRUCTURE

The Association carries out its responsibilities through Committees and Meetings, of which there are:

• Association Board - responsible for General Policy and Financial control, with power to delegate expenditure to its sub-committees detailed below and to Unit Commanders; for special grants to Units for purposes outside the responsibilities of the other Committees, for policy matters affecting the TA Order of Battle and deployment of Units to TA Centres; and for the Association HQ Staff.
• Regional Employer Support Group (RESG) -  Responsible for the promotion of Reserve Forces interests with Employers.  There are four Area ESGs (North, North-East, East and South) and an Association Employer Support Group consisting of the Association Chairman, the Area ESG Chairmen, the National Employers Association Board representative and the Chief Executive.
• Senior Management Team – headed by the Chief Executive, along with his Deputy CE and Assistant CE and the Heads of Department meet on a frequent basis.
• Association Members and Representative Groups – The Chief Executive hosts periodic meetings throughout the year with the Unit Commanding Officers and Officers Commanding, ACF Commandants and their Cadet Executive Officers and Quartermasters.
  
  
  

REPRESENTATION AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

A core element of Highland RFCA’s work is to inform the wider community of the activities undertaken and the contribution to society made by the Reserve Forces and the Service Cadet organisations.  We also act as a conduit for representing the Ministry of Defence and the Armed Forces.  In addition to keeping people informed of the activities of the Reserve Forces and Cadets, we also encourage feedback from the public, which we can then relay to the MOD and Service chains of command.  We are always willing to hear from members of the public.  This is achieved through our Volunteer Members and the Executive’s ability to engage across the full spectrum of people living in the Highlands that include:

• The UK Parliament and Government
• The Scottish Parliament and Government
• Local Authorities
• Employers and Employers’ Bodies
• Religious Organisations
• Media
• Education Authorities, Higher and Further Education, and Schools
• Armed Services’ Communities and Ex-Service Veteran Communities
• Emergency Services