A grant from the RNRMC and it’s partner The Greenwich Hospital is being used to support the work of HOS through the successful Military Matters project. Housing advice and information was provided by HOS’s Engagement Manager, Fraser Gilmore, through briefing sessions organised last month at both HM Naval Base Clyde and Rosyth Dockyard. These sessions meant personnel and their families had the opportunity to learn more about their civilian housing options and ask questions about the Scottish housing market.
Having access to this sort of quality advice is important as housing is devolved to the Scottish Parliament and there are differences in policy and the law around renting for example. Initial feedback suggests that having HOS on site has prompted some family members to start planning for their future housing needs away from Services Families Accommodation. Topics covered include making best use of incentive schemes such as Forces Help to Buy and Scottish Government’s initiatives such as the LIFT Scheme (Low Cost Initiative for First Time Buyers).
The briefing at Falsane received immediate positive feedback from the welfare team at the Communities Centre at Helensburgh and they are already planning to repeat the session at some point in the near future. With the continued influx of naval personnel and their families Faslane continues to grow in size and housing is certainly an area of interest for those moving up to the area possibly for the first time in their career.
Funding from the RNRMC and Greenwich Hospital allows HOS to work with serving RN and RM personnel and their families replicating the successful partnerships HOS already has with the Army and RAF in Scotland. HOS activities with the serving community has been funded entirely from grants from all three service charities during 2017/18.
