- Greater than £1.5 billion additional for forces household housing means greater than £7 billion to be spent on army lodging on this Parliament, tackling the poor state of forces lodging throughout the nation.
- Document funding builds on the brand new Defence Shopper Constitution to rework dwelling circumstances for army households after landmark deal to deliver 36,347 houses again into public possession.
- New funding will help pressing repairs and long-term renewal of army housing throughout the nations and areas of the UK.
Hundreds of British army personnel and their households can have their lives improved by greater than £1.5 billion of further funding to enhance lodging for the UK Armed Forces.
The funding will probably be confirmed as a part of the launch of the Authorities’s upcoming Strategic Defence Overview (SDR), serving to renew the nation’s contract with those that serve, supporting the federal government’s Plan for Change.
By way of the upcoming SDR greater than £1.5 billion of latest funding into service household lodging will unlock speedy work to sort out the poor state of forces housing – with funding rising from this yr – serving to to help recruitment, retention and morale.
This can embrace pressing repairs and upkeep, from fixing unreliable boilers and leaky roofs to tackling damp and mildew in service household lodging, alongside improvement of latest forces housing, as a part of unlocking the broader potential for housing improvement on surplus MOD land.
The extra funding for lodging means greater than £7 billion will probably be spent throughout this Parliament on service household lodging and new construct single dwelling lodging to ship a generational renewal of Armed Forces lodging. This will probably be guided by the forthcoming Defence Housing Technique – which is continuing at tempo and has already seen the announcement of a brand new Shopper Constitution to strengthen housing requirements for forces households.
The SDR will set a path for the following decade to rework defence and make the UK safe at residence and robust overseas. It can finish the hollowing out of our Armed Forces and make defence an engine for development throughout the UK.
Defence Secretary, John Healey MP mentioned:
Our Armed Forces personnel make extraordinary sacrifices to serve our nation.
For too lengthy, many army households have lived in sub-standard houses, however this authorities is taking decisive motion to repair the dire state of army lodging and be sure that our heroes and their family members reside within the houses they deserve.
We’re investing and appearing quick, to repair forces housing and renew the nation’s contract with those that serve and ship on our Plan for Change.
The supply of the Authorities’s new Shopper Constitution will see instant funding in pressing renovation of 1,000 houses in most want of restore. The Constitution will even see primary shopper rights quickly launched for forces households, together with important property info and better move-in requirements, extra dependable repairs, a named housing officer for each household, and entry to a strong complaints system – serving to to ship houses match for our heroes.
The document funding follows the Authorities’s landmark deal to deliver again 36,000 army houses into public possession, as a part of the Prime Minister’s pledge to ship residence match for heroes.
The SDR will say that the Ministry of Defence ought to enhance the general normal of army lodging, together with prioritising websites which might be in most pressing want of restore. The Phrases of Reference for the Overview dedicated to place ‘Defence personnel…on the coronary heart of Defence’s plans.’
The announcement comes alongside one other above-inflation pay rise for the Armed Forces, introduced by the Authorities final week. That is the second inflation busting pay rise awarded by the Authorities since final July, with final yr’s award representing the most important pay rise for Armed Forces personnel in over 20 years.
