16.3 |
Military fatalities and the bereaved
to relax
the MOD’s policy on the retention of SFA and to improve the quality
of AFPAA
correspondence.
Lt Gen Palmer also advised that:
•
He had
directed that all MOD correspondence should be routed through
the
deceased’s
unit and the VO, and all MOD visits to bereaved families
should
be
co‑ordinated by the VO.
•
Further
work would be done to develop “simple and readable” guidance,
to
improve the
tone of correspondence, and to develop a comprehensive
guide
to the
sources of advice and support available.
•
Further
work would be done to assess the selection, training and
education
of CNOs and
VOs.
58.
In March 2004,
the MOD concluded a study to identify improvements to
their
investigative
and Board of Inquiry (BOI) processes.41
While the
study focused on the
investigative
and BOI processes themselves, it recommended that:
•
Commands
should establish a senior focal point with responsibility
for
pro‑actively
monitoring all investigations and BOIs;
•
all
communication with families should be routed through a “single
established
and known
contact”, who could explain the context of any correspondence
and
“head‑off
any infelicitous or insensitive drafting”; and
•
a
“knowledgeable and consistent” officer should regularly brief
families on the
detail and
progress of the entire investigation and BOI process.
59.
On 24 June,
Lt Gen Palmer reported to Air Chief Marshal (ACM)
Sir Anthony
Bagnall,
Vice Chief of Defence Staff (VCDS), that each Service had now
appointed a
“Senior
Co‑ordinator” to act as a focal point for monitoring investigations
and Inquiries.42
Lt Gen Palmer
also gave ACM Bagnall the “specific reassurance” that he had
requested
that each
Service had undertaken to provide regular briefings to next of kin
on process
and
progress. All communication with the next of kin would be routed
through a single
contact
(normally the VO) who would “act as a sift” to filter out any
insensitive or
inconsistent
drafting.
60.
Lt Gen Palmer
advised ACM Bagnall that a study into Services’
bereavement
support
procedures, including the training provided to CNOs and VOs, had
now
reported.
The study had concluded that:
•
While it
might seem logical to adopt a tri‑Service approach to
bereavement
support
procedures, it was reasonable for each Service to continue to use
their
41
Paper MOD
[junior official], 25 March 2004 [incorrectly dated on original as
24 February 2004],
‘Inquiries/Investigations
into Death or Serious Injury on Operations: Scope for Improvement
and
Tri‑Service
Harmonisation – a Short Study for VCDS/DCDS(Pers)’.
42
Minute
DCDS(Pers) to VCDS, 24 June 2004, ‘Inquiries into Unnatural Death
and Serious Injury:
Improvements
in Process and Briefing’.
87