A Defence Committee report published today (11 December) finds that accommodation for Service personnel and their families is “shocking”, with two-thirds of Service Family Accommodation (SFA) needing major work to meet modern standards, and families facing uncertainty over allocation of accommodation.
Issues with damp and mould persist, and the report calls on the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) – the organisation responsible for maintaining and servicing accommodation – to do more to resolve outstanding problems with damp and mould across the Defence estate and provide the Committee with a timeline for full remediation.
Service families’ trust has been damaged, and the DIO and service providers need to demonstrate a genuine “family first” approach to earn that trust back. The Ministry of Defence’s (MOD) claims of a recovery in contractor performance need to be borne out in a demonstrable improvement in the customer experience and markedly increased customer satisfaction. The report calls for better communication with Service families about maintenance work.
The report calls for the MOD and the Treasury to make ongoing funding commitments to improve the Defence estate before it deteriorates beyond repair and before greater numbers of personnel decide to leave the military because of poor accommodation. The report says that the Government should set out in detail investment plans for Service accommodation. The report concludes that the current levels of funding are not enough to bring all Service accommodation up to a decent, modern standard.
The Committee’s report is also critical of the MOD’s communication with Service families. The MOD’s communication of the Modernised Accommodation Offer was inadequate for those adversely affected by the policy change, including those with rank-based benefits, to understand and respond to its impact on them.
The report notes that since the change of government, there has been no new announcement on Service accommodation allocation, leaving some families in limbo. The report calls on Government to update the Committee, and more importantly Service personnel, on its approach to allocation of SFA, with timescales and metrics for implementation.
The report finds that Single Living Accommodation (SLA) – accommodation provided to single and unaccompanied personnel, usually in a block on a base – often does not meet the needs and expectations of today’s recruits, which has had an adverse effect on recruitment and retention. While the report welcomes the introduction of a “long-awaited” Defence Minimum Standard for SLA, the Committee warns that this should not simply result in sub-standard accommodation being recognised but not rectified.
Chair of the Defence Committee, Tan Dhesi MP, said:
“Our brave Servicemen and women and their families have a right to live in safe, decent accommodation. Yet evidence received recently by the Committee exposes the unacceptable conditions that many are having to endure. Service families’ trust has been further eroded by ongoing maintenance issues. It is simply not acceptable to expect those who fight for their country to live in housing with serious damp and mould – conditions that pose a danger to their and their families’ health. It is clear that many of these problems cannot be solved without major investment in the Defence estate. However difficult public finances might be, the Ministry of Defence and Treasury need to find a way to work together to make sure that all Service housing on offer genuinely meets a decent standard.
“The Ministry of Defence’s mishandled announcement on the allocation of Service accommodation has also left people in a state of uncertainty. Both low-quality accommodation and uncertainty over eligibility will only compound the recruitment and retention crisis facing our Armed Forces. Suitable accommodation is a key part of the offer to our Forces. If the Government is serious about addressing declining morale and low recruitment, then it needs to act fast.”
When the MoD’s housing was sold off to Annington Homes in 1996 (!) …at rock bottom prices I might add, it was promised to occupants this would enable improvements to be made to the housing stock. I assumed that as Annington had bought the houses and were now managing them, that it would be Annington that would bring them up to standard. Apparently not. I recently heard that it is the MoDs responsibility. I really don’t get this. It defies logic and common sense. The MoD wanted to sell the houses off as they no longer considered that housing was ‘core business’, yet they still maintain them.
Can anyone explain this? If I sell my own house, it is no longer up to me to put a new boiler in, sort out the mould etc.
It was an inexplicable, terrible deal. No wonder it has not worked out.
Sounds similar to the mythical light bulb replacement contract that matches 5% above inflation, meaning light bulbs are replaced for £45 each.
a house by house survey of all the services accommodation should be done by the MOD. ITT WAS THE best thing ever when they appalling rowner slum was torn down service people are spending more time away from the family and the last thing they want when they come home, is a to do list for jobs around the house 😭😭!!
It does sound like a first class disaster. There is this little bit on Wiki “In 2022, the MoD announced plans to use the Leasehold Reform Act 1967 to reverse the privatisation deal and return the properties to public ownership. Terra Firma said it would challenge the decision in court.
and this “In 1996, under the defence secretary Michael Portillo, the Conservative government sold 57,400 houses used by military service men and women and their families to Annington Homes for £1.7bn in a sale and leaseback deal. In one swoop, Annington became the biggest residential property owner in England and Wales. The MoD rented back the homes on a 200-year lease at a discount but also agreed to pay for their maintenance and refurbishment.
Oh dear! Whoever made that agreement should pay for the repairs themselves,totally bonkers.
Simon, Average of £29.6k each!! A very low price, so terrible deal for MoD. And why did MoD agree to pay for ongoing repairs and refurbishment for 200 years?
We know it of course. Been like this for decades. Another can repeatedly kicked down the road by successive “governments”. And yet they still insist on sending billions overseas in “aid”, including to communist China and India of all places. Words cannot describe how ludicrous government function is in the UK.