The standard of housing for armed services personnel and their families has been decried as “shocking”, according to a committee of MPs, with the government urged to take action.
In a report published last month, the Defence Committee found that two-thirds of service family accommodation (SFA) needs major work to meet modern standards, and families face uncertainty over allocation of accommodation.
Issues with damp and mould persist, the report says, and it 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.
According to the report, 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.
Meanwhile, 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.
Tan Dhesi MP, chair of the defence committee, 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.”
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.
Furthermore, 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.
Dhesi added: “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.”
Image credit: Bumble Dee/Shutterstock
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