New Estate delivery arrangements

Highland RFCA is responsible for nearly 50 Reserve units and more than 200 Cadet units located on over 130 sites across the Highlands and Islands. The Estates head office in Dundee is supported by area offices in Inverness, Aberdeen and Dumbarton.

Changes to the way Hard Facilities Management (Hard FM) is delivered across the RFCA Volunteer Estate came into effect on 1 August 2024.

Hard FM is now incorporated into the Future Defence Infrastructure Services (FDIS) with services delivered by the Ministry of Defence Built Estate contracts. Regional Prime Contractor Mitie Defence will deliver those services in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Services across England and Wales will be delivered by VINCI Facilities Defence and VIVO Defence Services.

These contracts cover key maintenance work, repairs, servicing and Hard Facilities Management across the Volunteer Estate to enable Reserves and Cadets to continue to work and train. The arrangements will not only achieve better value for money, but also deliver a higher standard of service for users.

FDIS has been running on the Regular Estate for more than two years now, and full operating capability of the new arrangement is expected to be achieved by 1 February 2025.

The HRFCA Estates team will be responsible for assuring the work of Mitie Defence across the areas of fault reporting, inspections and tests, repairs, condition surveys, and checking Value for Money.

HRFCA will also remain responsible for:

Managing title deeds, leases and rentals for the Volunteer Estate.
Working with the single Services and Cadet organisations to identify future estate priorities.
Commissioning new works and betterment projects on the Cadet Estate funded by rate rebate.
Soft Facilities Management.

Major General (Retired) Jamie Gordon, Chief Executive, Council Reserves Forces’ and Cadets’ Association said: “Today, we go live with new contractors to deliver Hard Facilities Management across the Volunteer Estate. Through this new contract, we will continue to ensure that the Volunteer Estate remains safe and functional for all Reserves and Cadets to work and train. This is but one of the changes that we enacted so we can deliver the best support to the UK’s Reserves and Cadets, as we have done over the past 116 years.”

Charlie Antelme, Managing Director, Mitie Defence, said: “We look forward to bringing our technology-led approach to facilities transformation and ensuring that both Reserve and Cadet Forces benefit from an efficient, safe, and well-maintained estate in which to live, work and train.”