Armed forces housing is 'shocking' and will drive families out of military without urgent funding, report says
The quality of housing for armed forces personnel and their families is “shocking”, a new report has found, and will drive people out of the military unless the Government increases funding.
An investigation by the Defence Committee, a group of MPs which scrutinises the Ministry of Defence, revealed that persistent problems with damp and mould was damaging the trust of service families.
Members took evidence from dozens of armed forces personnel, who said communication from the MoD about complaints and repairs was lacking.
The report found that two-thirds of service family accommodation (SFA) needed “major work” to meet modern standards.
Catterick Garrison, near Richmond, is the largest British Army base in the world, and has a population of around 13,000 people.
Yet in recent years, reports have claimed that there have been issues with hot water and showering facilities at some of the barracks in the base.
Tan Dhesi, chair of the committee, said: “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.”
Mr Dhesi said that “however difficult public finances might be, the MoD and Treasury need to find a way to work together to make sure that all service housing on offer genuinely meets a decent standard”.
“Both low-quality accommodation and uncertainty over eligibility will only compound the recruitment and retention crisis facing our armed forces,” he warned.
“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.”
The previous government pledged £4 billion in April to upgrade service accommodation, yet the report says “no detail on this commitment was available at the time the general election was called”.
Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to increase defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP, however he has not given a timeframe for this and the MoD has not made any announcement about accommodation allocation.
The report said that this has left some families in “limbo”, and estimated that it would take at least £2bn to make the estate “decent” and “somewhere people would be happy to live”.
This all comes at a time when the Government is tightening its belt, after Rachel Reeves launched the Spending Review yesterday.
The Chancellor has asked Whitehall departments to find 5 per cent of savings, promising to use an “iron fist” to get rid of waste.
The Treasury acknowledged that would inevitably mean “difficult” decisions – suggesting the axe would fall in areas which were not part of Sir Keir’s “missions” for government.
These did not include increasing defence spending to 2.5 per cent, so it remains to be seen how the Government finds the £10 billion it would need to fulfill this pledge.
Earlier in the month, defence minister and former colonel Alistair Carns said that the British Army would be wiped out in six months if it was forced to fight a Ukraine-style conflict.
The MoD said it would respond to the report in full soon.
A spokesperson said: “This report lays bare the dire state of service accommodation this government inherited and is determined to fix.
“We are delivering our plan for change by renewing the nation's contract with those who serve, and we are working hard to improve the quality of housing for our personnel and their families – including developing new standards for service accommodation.
“We are committed to listening to our people and are establishing an Armed Forces Commissioner to act as a strong, independent champion for personnel and their families to improve service life.”