Air Command Secretariat
Spitfire Block
Headquarters Air Command
Royal Air Force
High Wycombe
Buckinghamshire
HP14 4UE
Ref: 2017/11300
Mr Joe Dixon
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
1 December 2017
Dear Mr Dixon,
Thank you for your email of 8 November requesting the following information:
‘I would like to know why members commissioned into the Royal Air Force
Volunteer Reserve (Training Branch) are not attested, but the Royal Air Force
Volunteer Reserve (UAS) are.
This is shown on RAF Form 1047’
I am treating your correspondence as a request for information under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 (FOIA).
A search for the information has now been completed within the Ministry of Defence,
and I can confirm that some information in scope of your request is held.
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) University Air Squadron (UAS) recruits
are attested, as they are enlisted as servicemen and then immediately re-mustered
with the status of Officer Cadet (Air Publication 3392 Vol 7).
RAFVR (Training Branch) (RAFVR(T)) are not attested because, this would then
give them the disciplinary power and authority over RAF Regulars and RAF
Reserves. There has never been a requirement for a uniformed volunteer who
delivers youth activity to hold disciplinary powers over Regular and Reserve
personnel. Furthermore, RAFVR(T) are not liable for deployment, so are therefore
not required to swear an allegiance to Queen and Country.
If you have any queries regarding the content of this letter, please contact this office
in the first instance.
If you wish to complain about the handling of your request, or the content of this
response, you can request an independent internal review by contacting the
Information Rights Compliance team, Ground Floor, MOD Main Building, Whitehall,
SW1A 2HB (e-mail xxxxxxxxxx@xxx.xx). Please note that any request for an
internal review should be made within 40 working days of the date of this response.
If you remain dissatisfied following an internal review, you may raise your complaint
directly to the Information Commissioner under the provisions of Section 50 of the
Freedom of Information Act. Please note that the Information Commissioner will not
normally investigate your case until the MOD internal review process has been
completed. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: Information
Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.
Further details of the role and powers of the Information Commissioner can be found
on the Commissioner's website at https://ico.org.uk/
Yours sincerely,
[Original Signed]
Air Director Resources Secretariat
Air Command