Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government what consultation they undertook with service personnel and their families regarding the Modernised Accommodation Offer for the armed forces.

Answered by Earl of Minto - Shadow Minister (Defence)

The Modernised Accommodation Offer built on extensive consultation from the Future Accommodation Model as well as further research as the policy was finalised. As part of the current review, we will be undertaking further consultations with Service personnel and families.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether the appointment of the independent Armed Forces Commissioner for the UK will take place this year.

Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Armed Forces Commissioner will be recruited following Parliament’s consideration of the Armed Forces Commissioner Bill which was introduced in the House of Commons on 6 November. The Commissioner’s recruitment will be undertaken via a Public Appointment process and will be subject to pre-appointment scrutiny by the House of Commons Defence Select Committee.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the progress made over the last 18 months in improving the maintenance of the accommodation of military personnel.

Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) manages c47,000 Service Family Accommodation (SFA) properties in the UK. The Government inherited an SFA estate which is ageing and requires sustained investment to arrest decline and maintain accommodation and delivery standards.

The Secretary of State for Defence has committed to reviewing its target standard for accommodation with the aim of improving the standard of SFA across the estate, and to better delineate between the current, varied standards of condition.

Planning for winter 2024-25 has included delivering a full day Rehearsal of Concept (RoC) Drill on 5 September 2024, to test MOD’s contractors’ plans for winter preparedness against extreme weather scenarios. Preparedness has included ensuring appropriate resource is in place, conducting pre-winter maintenance work, issuing Winter Preparedness communications to Service families, and preparing contingency plans should extreme weather events emerge.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made regarding the ownership and upgrading of married accommodation for serving personnel.

Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) manages c47,000 Service Family Accommodation (SFA) properties in the UK. The Government inherited an SFA estate which is ageing and requires sustained investment to arrest decline and maintain accommodation and delivery standards.

The Secretary of State for Defence has committed to reviewing its target standard for accommodation with the aim of improving the standard of SFA across the estate, and to better delineate between the current, varied standards of condition.

Planning for winter 2024-25 has included delivering a full day Rehearsal of Concept (RoC) Drill on 5 September 2024, to test MOD’s contractors’ plans for winter preparedness against extreme weather scenarios. Preparedness has included ensuring appropriate resource is in place, conducting pre-winter maintenance work, issuing Winter Preparedness communications to Service families, and preparing contingency plans should extreme weather events emerge.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that armed forces accommodation is sufficiently prepared for winter.

Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) manages c47,000 Service Family Accommodation (SFA) properties in the UK. The Government inherited an SFA estate which is ageing and requires sustained investment to arrest decline and maintain accommodation and delivery standards.

The Secretary of State for Defence has committed to reviewing its target standard for accommodation with the aim of improving the standard of SFA across the estate, and to better delineate between the current, varied standards of condition.

Planning for winter 2024-25 has included delivering a full day Rehearsal of Concept (RoC) Drill on 5 September 2024, to test MOD’s contractors’ plans for winter preparedness against extreme weather scenarios. Preparedness has included ensuring appropriate resource is in place, conducting pre-winter maintenance work, issuing Winter Preparedness communications to Service families, and preparing contingency plans should extreme weather events emerge.

Found: of The Shaws, Baroness Benne tt of Manor Castle, Lord Deben, Lord Dodds , The Lord Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich

Found: of The Shaws, Baroness Benne tt of Manor Castle, Lord Deben, Lord Dodds , The Lord Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich