Page 7 - RAPTC Year of 2019

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CHAIRMAN’S ANNUAL STATEMENT 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2020
Brigadier E J R Chamberlain – Chairman of Trustees
Introduction. During the past 18 months as Commandant of The Royal Army Physical Training Corps (RAPTC) and Chairman of The Association Executive Committee I have had the privilege to meet many serving and veteran members of The Association. I am continually impressed by them and am delighted to find that The Corps’ Veterans are as committed and engaged as those still serving. I am particularly impressed by The Association’s can-do attitude and willingness to continually strive to increase the value provided by The Association through improving the support it gives its members; it is a living entity with a strong ethos and sound value base. Maintaining contact with our veteran community is essential and I am heartened to note the close bonds of friendships between our members continue long after they have left The Corps. This was clearly highlighted at the ASPT Pass-off parade in December 2019 when members of Probationer’s Course No 94 reunited 40 years after they passed into The Corps. The Association office and Branch committees are central to this relationship and it is therefore particularly pleasing to see the reenergisation and reestablishment of the Eastern Branch after a short period of suspension.
Governance. The Association’s Trustees control our charity and are responsible for ensuring it remains solvent, well run and provides the support for our members in accordance with the objects contained within The RAPTC Association Constitution. As a registered charity, The Association is held to account by the Charity Commission for England and Wales who judge our performance against the objects within our governing document, The RAPTC Association Constitution. The Constitution is supported by a set of Internal Rules (IRs) which articulate the duties and responsibilities of The Trustees and their delegated committees. The IRs have recently been reviewed by the Trustees; finding them fit for purpose and without need for amendment they were re-endorsed at The Trustees’ meeting on 17 September 2019. Copies of the Constitution and IRs can be found on The RAPTC Association Website (RAPTC Association – For Serving and Retired Members (http://raptcassociation.org.uk/)).
Finance. Our accounts are managed and administered in accordance with Service Funds Regulations and I am most grateful for the support provided by HQ RAPTC to ensure we conform to the regulations that govern charity funds. This has been more challenging than desirable as the Regimental Accountant’s post has been gapped for much of the reporting period. Consequently, I am particularly grateful for the work Mrs Jules Fairclough has done to help run the accounts.
Our accounts have been audited. There were no adverse comments and they were submitted within the directed timeframes to the Charity Commission. During this reporting period our accounts have been in balance and there has been no excess of expenditure over income ensuring that we have remained within budget. This is in large part due to the effective and intelligent management practice of The Regimental Secretary, whom I commend for his work.
I am also most grateful for the voluntary contributions to The Association by our serving members. They continue to be amongst the highest in the Army. I am happy to report that we have also received a small number of donations this year. These contributions and donations are vital in enabling us to provide benevolence and welfare for our serving and retired members when they need support.
Investments. The Association investments were held in the Armed Forces Common Investment Fund (AFCIF) and managed
by BlackRock on behalf of The Association. Following advice from the Armed Forces Advisory committee and BlackRock, The Association Trustees agreed to move investments from the AFCIF into a Charity Authorised Investment Fund (CAIF). We continue to receive quarterly dividends from our investments which are allocated at the start of each financial year for the good and benefit of our members.
Our investments are monitored regularly, and BlackRock provide an annual overview of the financial markets for the Trustees; they also provide quarterly updates on the performance of The Association’s investments. The Association’s investments performed well during the pre-Brexit turbulent period and maintained pace with inflation. Having now left the EU I can reassure you that The Trustees will maintain a vigilant posture to ensure that our investments continue to be wise in the new economic and political context so that they continue to provide a good return.
Benevolence and Welfare. As an Association, we define Benevolence as ‘support for those in need’ and Welfare as ‘support to enhance the wellbeing of an individual’. It is a sad fact of life that some of our members do find themselves or their dependants in difficult situations and I can confirm that The Association Welfare committee has made several benevolence grants to those needing support.
All requests for benevolence are treated with the strictest confidence and The Regimental Secretary works closely with other benevolence providers to ensure our members receive the most appropriate support.
The Association have also awarded welfare grants to support our Association Branches, Corps sports teams and the very successful biennial Association Service of Commemoration at the RAPTC Memorial within the grounds of the National Memorial Arboretum.
Association Branches. The Branches provide the regional focus that enables the development, enrichment and sustainment of comradeship and esprit-de-corps so necessary for the continued operational effectiveness of the Corps. This is not unique to the serving contingent but spans the veteran and serving elements of The RAPTC as well as their families. The considerable work of the UK Association Branch committees and their helpers has continued this year. On behalf of all members of The Association, I thank the Chairmen, Secretaries and their helpers for their selfless and unswerving commitment; without it the Branches would not exist and without the Branches The Corps and its veterans would be very much the poorer. In recognition of the valuable work they do for The Association, The Trustees have increased the funding for the Branches from the annual dividend income. The Trustees remain fully committed to supporting them and the valuable work they do for all our members. Equally, I remain grateful for the informal associations that have sprung up worldwide and for the work done by former serving members of the Corps to foster and maintain good relationships around the world with serving and veteran members of the Corps and with our allies and affiliated regiments and corps. It is invaluable work.
Association Annual Awards. The Association present annual awards in recognition of those who have enhanced the prestige of The Corps and Association. The ‘Gelder Trophy’ is awarded annually to ‘The Association member who has contributed most to enhance the prestige of The Association’. It is always pleasing when an individual receives recognition for their contributions