Accommodation

Monday 12th December 2011 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence (Mr Andrew Robathan)]

Following a review into support provided to senior officers, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) has disestablished the status of “Official Service Residence” this financial year.

The MOD is committed to identifying efficiencies and savings where possible whilst maintaining essential operational capability. As part of this commitment a comprehensive review into the support provided to senior officers has been conducted and concluded that areas of the business could be improved by simplifying the management of service families accommodation and by harmonising the support provided to senior officers across defence.

In the past, a number of service properties were granted official service residence status if the post held by the occupant involved significant official entertaining duties. This status conferred an enhanced package of furniture, fixtures and furnishings but it has now been discontinued, so service families accommodation is now all managed to the same standard. In addition, the support provided to more senior officers, such as domestic assistance for official hospitality, has been reduced and harmonised across the services. These changes are captured in a new tri-service policy which also revises the rules and regulations in relation to official hospitality.

These measures will ensure that the support provided is appropriate and driven by business need, and they will lead to savings in due course. The properties that were formerly classed as official service residences will no longer form a separate grouping for purposes of management information.