Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans he has to ensure that his Department is a psychologically safe place in which to work.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
This Government is committed to a safe working environment for all. The Secretary of State for Defence set out in his first address to staff that this will be a Government that respects all, will draw on all talents and will have zero tolerance for abuse.
The Ministry of Defence has launched a programme aimed at reaffirming the standards of behaviour that are expected across Defence. The Secretary of State has asked for an update on this work, and will consider what further action is needed across the Department.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has made an estimate of trends in the number of complaints made about service family accommodation since 2022; and what steps he plans to take to reduce the number of recorded complaints.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Improving Service accommodation is a priority for this Government. The Department is committed to improving customer service for Service personnel and families living in Single Living Accommodation (SLA) and Service Family Accommodation (SFA).
As a first step to improving Service life the Government will establish an Armed Forces Commissioner as a direct point of contact for Service personnel and their families, to raise issues including housing.
SLA
A SLA Expert Group, including Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) and Top Level Budget (TLB) representatives and delivery teams, is continuing to evolve Defence Minimum Standard (DMS) measures to improve the quality of SLA.
If the DMS is not met and no other accommodation can be offered, charges for Service Personnel may be abated. A data tool that promotes consistency in DMS assessments is under development and is due to be completed by the end of 2024.
SFA
A review of contractual Key Performance Indicators is being initiated in recognition of the concerns raised by Service Families to ensure that they are aligned with and meet their needs. A joint DIO and contractor Case Management Team has been established to deliver targeted intervention for families by providing additional support where immediate action is required. The case management process aims to prevent issues from escalating into complaints.
Additionally, a review of the complaints process is underway to identify where the process might be improved and to make it easier for families to seek swift resolution of reported poor performance.
The attached table shows the number of open complaints made about SFA by Service Personnel since 2022.
As at 1 July 2024, the number of open complaints reduced to 539, down from the peak of 4,190 in early November 2022.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he plans to take steps to improve customer service for (a) single living accommodation and (b) service family accommodation.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Improving Service accommodation is a priority for this Government. The Department is committed to improving customer service for Service personnel and families living in Single Living Accommodation (SLA) and Service Family Accommodation (SFA).
As a first step to improving Service life the Government will establish an Armed Forces Commissioner as a direct point of contact for Service personnel and their families, to raise issues including housing.
SLA
A SLA Expert Group, including Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) and Top Level Budget (TLB) representatives and delivery teams, is continuing to evolve Defence Minimum Standard (DMS) measures to improve the quality of SLA.
If the DMS is not met and no other accommodation can be offered, charges for Service Personnel may be abated. A data tool that promotes consistency in DMS assessments is under development and is due to be completed by the end of 2024.
SFA
A review of contractual Key Performance Indicators is being initiated in recognition of the concerns raised by Service Families to ensure that they are aligned with and meet their needs. A joint DIO and contractor Case Management Team has been established to deliver targeted intervention for families by providing additional support where immediate action is required. The case management process aims to prevent issues from escalating into complaints.
Additionally, a review of the complaints process is underway to identify where the process might be improved and to make it easier for families to seek swift resolution of reported poor performance.
The attached table shows the number of open complaints made about SFA by Service Personnel since 2022.
As at 1 July 2024, the number of open complaints reduced to 539, down from the peak of 4,190 in early November 2022.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the maintenance and repairs service provided by private contractors on the defence estate.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Improving Service accommodation is a priority for this Government.
The Armed Forces Continuous Attitude survey shows Service personnel have low levels of satisfaction with responses to requests for and the quality maintenance/repair work of Service Family Accommodation, and low levels of satisfaction with the general standard of Single Living Accommodation.
As a first step to improving Service life the Government will establish an Armed Forces Commissioner as a direct point of contact for Service personnel and their families, to raise issues including housing.
Within each built estate Future Defence Infrastructure Services (FDIS) contract, there is an embedded assurance and verification process to check the adequacy of the maintenance and repair service provided. The assessments are made against Acceptable Levels of Performance.
As part of the National Accommodation Management Services contract, Pinnacle is consistently delivering at or above the minimum Acceptable Level of Performance in all areas where they have sole responsibility for delivery. Performance has either improved or been maintained by both VIVO and Amey in the key areas of reactive maintenance timeframes, and against the Move-In Standard. more progress still needs to be made before both are consistently at or above the Acceptable Level of Performance across the board and to meet the needs of Service families.
All FDIS UK Built Estate suppliers are currently performing as a minimum at the Acceptable Level of Performance in all areas. Where performance falls short of that Acceptable Level of Performance, specific performance Rectification Plans are put in place to recover performance and any subsequent contractual performance withholds applied. Each Region manages this performance rectification with suppliers back to an acceptable level of performance with oversight from the Health Check Forum. In general, the levels of performance have been improving due to Supplier competence and experience building commensurate with contract maturity.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has plans to authorise further funds for ancillary purchases of equipment and enablers for the Ajax programme, beyond the existing firm contract amount.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Ministers are closely looking at the inherited plans for the Ajax programme.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether it is his policy to continue the Armed Forces Help to Buy Scheme.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
Yes.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the total annual budget for administrative costs associated with conducting the Strategic Defence Review is.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Strategic Defennce Review will be conducted in the most cost-effective way possible, within existing budgets. The ultimate outcome of the review is to identify where reprioritisation of roles, capabilities, activities, and support may be made in the current Defence programme, to allow new investment, achieve better value for money, and secure greater economic gain for the UK.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he plans to implement recommendation seven of the Kerslake Commission on Armed Forces Housing's report entitled Homes unfit for heroes: The poor condition of armed forces accommodation and what needs to change, published in April 2024.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 25 July 2024 to Question 167.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he plans to review his Department’s extreme weather contingency plans.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Defence policy requires all Defence establishments to have business continuity and appropriate contingency plans in place to address risks of disruptions and that these plans are reviewed regularly. The effects of climate change on Departmental business resilience is recognised as a risk factor. As such, extreme weather contingency planning is a regular activity on Defence sites.
Defence developed and launched its own Climate Impact Risk Assessment Methodology in 2010 to identify measures to improve the resilience of the Defence estate to climate related hazards, and to ensure continuity of the outputs of Defence establishments.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he plans to take to ensure that the Armed Forces Commissioner (a) is accountable to Parliament and (b) operates in a transparent manner.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Armed Forces Commissioner is the first in a series of steps that will be taken by the new Government to improve Service life and renew the contract between the nation and those who serve.
The Armed Forces Commissioner will be a direct point of contact for Service personnel and their families to raise issues which impact on service life.
The Armed Forces Commissioner will have the power to investigate individual complaints and to proactively launch independent reviews into issues affecting Service personnel and their families more widely, and to lay those reports before Parliament. The new Commissioner will have a right of access to information, sites and personnel in order to fulfil their role. The Commissioner will incorporate the functions currently undertaken by the Service Complaints Ombudsman.
The Armed Forces Commissioner will strengthen Parliamentary oversight of issues facing our Armed Forces personnel and their families. The Commissioner will be subject to pre-appointment scrutiny by the Defence Select Committee and will report directly to Parliament, not ministers, via an annual report.
There will be opportunities to debate all aspects of the role, remit and operation of Armed Forces Commissioner when the Government brings forward the Legislation outlined in the King’s Speech. Details on budget, pay, grade, staffing and office location will be set out in due course.