The Ministry of Defence has published monthly figures showing the cost of urgent repair call-outs to Reserve Forces’ and Cadets’ Association (RFCA) sites across the United Kingdom since January 2023.
The data, released in a written parliamentary answer on 13 October, shows that emergency maintenance has cost the public purse more than £4.9 million over a 19-month period.
Responding to Liberal Democrat MP Helen Maguire (Epsom and Ewell), Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry Luke Pollard provided figures covering Priority 1 and 2 call outs, which refer to emergency or high-importance repairs. The data shows costs ranging from £104,628 to £380,787 per month, with the highest expenditure recorded in November 2023 and the lowest in December 2023.
In 2023, the average monthly cost of urgent repairs was around £290,000, with figures rising above £300,000 during several months. Spending dropped toward the end of that year before stabilising between £200,000 and £250,000 per month during the first half of 2024. March 2024 saw the lowest recorded cost at £129,630.
Pollard confirmed that the Future Defence Infrastructure Services (FDIS) framework became operational for the Reserve Estate on 1 August 2024. He stated that the Ministry no longer holds information in the same reporting format after that date. The FDIS framework is intended to modernise how the Defence estate is maintained and managed, consolidating previous regional contracts into a single system.
Many of these buildings are ageing, and urgent repairs remain necessary to maintain safety standards and operational readiness. The introduction of FDIS is expected to improve efficiency and oversight of maintenance spending in future years.
