Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what percentage of the accommodation provided in the United Kingdom for members of the Royal Navy is not en-suite.
Answered by Earl Howe - Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
This information is not held centrally. The department is currently developing a robust Single Living Accommodation allocation and management system which will be available in 2016.
Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what percentage of the accommodation provided in the United Kingdom for members of the British Army is not en-suite.
Answered by Earl Howe - Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
This information is not held centrally. The department is currently developing a robust Single Living Accommodation allocation and management system which will be available in 2016.
Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress they are making in enabling credit unions to offer services to members of Her Majesty's Forces and their families.
Answered by Lord Astor of Hever
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given in the House of Commons by my hon. Friend the Minister of State for Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans (Anna Soubry) on 8 December 2014 to Question number 216988 to the hon. Member for Harrow West (Gareth Thomas).
http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2014-12-03/216988/
Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when servicemen and servicewomen will be able to access credit union facilities through payroll deduction.
Answered by Lord Astor of Hever
I refer the noble Lord to the answer given in the House of Commons on 6 October 2014 to Question 208271. We fully endorse existing, strong credit unions expanding their membership to include the Armed Forces community.
As the noble Lord will be aware, when he met my hon. Friend, the Minister for Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans (Anna Soubry) on 15 October, she confirmed that the facilitation of payroll deduction for Credit Unions is technically possible and that our payroll provider is engaged with officials to scope and cost such deductions. Further work is underway to determine the criteria for access to this facility, and to develop an education campaign for our personnel so they may make informed choices.
Any payroll changes need to be delivered in one of the three releases per year of the intranet-based personnel administration system we use. It is now too late to deliver in November 2014. March 2015 is dedicated to the new pension scheme, therefore the most likely delivery date will be July 2015.
Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they are making in establishing a Military Credit Union.
Answered by Lord Astor of Hever
My noble Friend may be aware of the debate in the House of Commons on 8 April 2014 (Official Report, olumn 26WH-44WH) during which my hon. Friend Phillip Dunne announced that the Minister for Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans (Anna Soubry) would meet Gareth Thomas MP, the Association of British Credit Unions Ltd, and others to discuss this issue.
Arrangements for such a meeting have now been agreed and the Minister is due to meet with interested parties later this month. I will report back to the House in due course.