Ministry of Defence
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MOD responds to PAC report on the defence estate
Defence Minister Derek Twigg today gave his initial response to the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee report on the work of Defence Estates.
Under Secretary of State for Defence, Derek Twigg, said:
"It must be recognised that the Government is overturning decades of under-funding and upgrading accommodation to the highest level cannot happen in a short amount of time.
"I'd like to reassure members of our Armed Forces and their families, that Ministers are committed to doing all we can to provide good quality housing. I know that there are areas of the estate which require significant work, but we are making progress to improve accommodation - already 95 per cent of family homes are at the highest or second highest standard.
"Out of a total of nearly 50,000 service family properties, there are fewer than 150 homes graded at the lowest level - and these are being tackled as a matter of urgency. Many more families will benefit this year as some £30 million will be spent on upgrades and improvements to over 4,000 family homes - this is part of the £5bn that we expect to spend on housing and other accommodation over the next decade.
"In addition, we will have upgraded 50,000 single living bedspaces between 2001 and 2013. We are also spending £6bn over the next ten years on Private Finance Initiatives to transform major bases, including new garrison projects at Colchester and Project Allenby Connaught at Aldershot and Salisbury Plain. The costs of these projects also include other aspects of the overall sites such as offices and long term maintenance costs.
"I am taking an active lead in the work being done on accommodation. I want to ensure a step-change and to drive forward our further work on accommodation.
"I welcome the Public Accounts Committee's investigation, which recognises the complexity of our estate and the challenges we face. I also welcome their recognition that the Department is actively seeking to improve service accommodation; and their positive comments about the success of the energy saving project at RAF Kinloss, which is now being replicated on the defence estate.
"We will look in detail at the points raised and will respond fully in due course."
Notes to Editors
1. In recognition of the challenge in continuing to upgrade Service Family Accommodation (SFA) in Great Britain, we have identified a 10-year upgrade programme based on an anticipated investment of £38 million for 2008/09 and £48 million per annum thereafter. This will deliver 600 upgrades in 2008/09 and up to 800 per annum in subsequent years. This represents a planned increase of over £20 million in 2008/09 and £30 million a year thereafter on previously planned levels of investment.
2. You can see the results all over the UK. Only last week we formally opened brand new en-suite accommodation at RAF Wittering in Cambridgeshire and at the Duke of Gloucester's Barracks in Gloucestershire. In the last 18 months we have delivered new-build housing, including at Glencorse Barracks in Scotland, Woodbridge Barracks in Colchester and Lee-on-the-Solent near Portsmouth. We are also currently upgrading properties in other locations such as RAF Coningsby and Invicta Park Barracks in Kent.
3. There has been a legacy of under-funding in Armed Forces housing so the MoD is investing substantially and taking a targeted long term approach. The £5bn spent over the next decade on housing and other accommodation is one element of transforming our accommodation. In addition, we are also spending £6bn on Private Finance Initiatives to improve sites, including new garrison projects at Colchester and Tidworth. The costs of these projects also include other aspects of the overall site such as offices and long term maintenance costs. The previous government's decision to sell Annington homes in 1996 made £1.6bn. This deal means that the MoD is contractually obliged to pay rent on the homes occupied by service families. This equates to an average monthly rent of £300 - substantially less than if the MoD was paying the open market rent for similar properties.
4. The PAC highlighted that funding was being used to improve sporting facilities. A requirement for sporting facilities remains, even when there are pressures on the budget, as physical fitness is vital to the effectiveness of service personnel on operations. Leisure facilities, including sports pitches etc are also essential to team-building and morale.
5. We are always looking at how we can communicate better for service personnel. Indeed, we are developing ways to better plan ahead so that we can communicate to service personnel what is going to happen to their accommodation and when.
6. Defence Estates manage some 71,000 family properties and 165,000 single bed-spaces worldwide. We fully recognise that the quality and condition of the defence estate have a direct impact on the morale of our armed forces personnel and their families. Accordingly, accommodation is one of the key areas that Minister for Armed Forces Bob Ainsworth will look at as he takes forward the Personnel Command Paper - the first ever cross-government strategy on support to our Armed Forces.
7. Standard for condition for SFA is a points based system, based on a score which is determined by the age, presence (i.e is there a shower or not) and a condition of 102 different attributes under 8 broad headings including health and safety, sanitation, kitchens, energy, efficiency and security.
Standard 1 (for condition) - has to be standard 1 in all 8 headings. Standard 2 could be at standard 1 in 7 of the 8 categories (standard 2 for example tend to properties that need new shower, kitchen.)Property at standard 3 is typically rated as 3 in 4 or fewer of the 8 categories (in general, properties require re-wired electrics and a new kitchen or bathroom. Standard 4 is given if any categories are rated as 5 or lower.
