MINISTRY OF DEFENCE
News Release (283/2007) issued by The Government News Network on 29
November 2007
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.