BFPO

A member of the Norther Ireland Veterans Association has asked for this to be displayed.

Dear All
Want to save the BFPO System?

http://petitions. number10. gov.uk/SaveBFPO/ sign

Please click on and sign the above petition. Though we all understand that defence cuts are to be made, this is an area which affects the families in particular. The BFPO system is the mechanism whereby post is received by our serving soldiers, sailors and airmen and their families abroad at a postal address recognised as being part of this country, no matter where in the world they are serving, even in war zones.

Amongst other things the loss of the BFPO service will disenfranchise them if they are postal voters; some credit card providers will not send cards abroad (M&S for example) whereas they will to a BFPO address; it may affect their ability to let their house whilst posted abroad, or away from home; it may take away their tax advantages such as being able to have an ISA whilst posted abroad. It will affect Open University students who have a BFPO address as they will be charged higher fees; it will potentially effect children of serving soldiers when they go to University, as they may not be eligible for student loans/fees to be paid, and will be charged higher fees as they live abroad. They will also be charged different rates for subscriptions etc as they will now have to come via local mail, and not the UK mail.

Thanks for supporting our servicemen and women together with their families in this way and please forward this email to as many of your friends as you can.

I can't pick up through the link u provided, any others?

[if]http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/SaveBFPO/[/if]

Signed up, I think it is very important that as many people sign up ASAP, the change takes place on 30 Sept.
It seems to me that it was introduced without anyone being aware, the changes will affect all service men and women plus families etc.
Please sign up ASAP.
Joe.

just signed

signed up enlisted good luck :arghh:

signed up

just signed keep the BFPO i have three sons serving one served in IRAQ and he liked his parcels from the family and others all because they knew the BFPO number to send them too without that he would have got nothing (KEEP THE BFPO) DEWI BEBB

just signed

done

names in the book...

Nice one, Done.:2thumbsup

Regards.

Signed up. I too am working in Iraq and we used the BFPO to have parcels sent in through the embassy in Baghdad and Basra,but all that has stopped now

done it

Governments response to the petition.

We received a petition asking:

“We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to reconsider the decision to remove British Forces Post Offices from mainland europe.”

Details of Petition:

“Armed Forces have been advised that the BFPO facilities in mainland europe will be shut from September 2010. Personnel, and their families, deployed in europe currently enjoy the same postal rates as the UK. Withdrawal of this long established tradition will further erode personnel’s ability to communicate with their families in the UK and safe receipt of parcels etc through a secure network.”

· Read the petition
· Petitions homepage

Read the Government’s response
The Government remains fully committed to providing efficient and effective postal service to our armed forces, especially those serving on operations.

The Ministry of Defence is making some changes to the way BFPO services operate in order to ensure we make best use of military manpower and to ensure the service is delivered in the most efficient way possible. The drawdown of the BFPO personnel supporting the UK military in the NATO headquarters in SHAPE, Brussels, Brunssum, Ramstein, Stavanger, Karup, Rome, Milan, Lisbon, Valencia and Norfolk Virginia should achieve a saving in excess of £1M per annum. The drawdown is scheduled to be completed by September 2010, by which time we aim to have in place alternative arrangements.

These changes relate to the BFPO personnel supporting the UK military population in a limited number of non-operational locations and all in countries with efficient domestic postal services. In order to minimise the impact on personnel and their dependants stationed at affected locations, the BFPO numbers, which are useful for administrative purposes such as proving status, banking and internet shopping, will be retained.

In addition, having taken into account the administrative disadvantages that the changes to the BFPO service could have on personnel and their dependants, some British Forces Post Office services will now be retained in a number of other NATO HQs. While Armed Forces personnel will no longer fulfil these functions and some counter services will cease from September 2010, the changes will enable civilians and, in some cases, Service dependants to take up local employment running a basic postal receipt and despatch facility.

These changes will have no impact on postal services to troops deployed on operations. In particular, the Enduring Free Mail Service out to operational theatres will not be affected.