Oral Answers to Questions

Lillian Jones Excerpts

Monday 24th March 2025 Commons Chamber

The Secretary of State was asked—

[Lillian Jones (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (Lab)]

1. What steps he is taking to improve housing for military personnel and their families.

[Clive Jones (Wokingham) (LD)]

5. What steps he is taking to improve the quality of accommodation for service families.

[The Secretary of State for Defence (John Healey)]

On behalf of the House, I would like to mark the passing of Group Captain John “Paddy” Hemingway, the last surviving battle of Britain pilot—one of those strikingly few brave young men who turned the tide of the war and kept our nation safe from Nazi invasion.

The fire sale of military family homes by Conservative Ministers in 1996 was probably the worst privatisation ever. The Government were paying £600,000 a day to rent back the homes and then paying all the repair costs, with no power to plan or to do the major upgrades needed. We bought back 36,000 forces homes in January, we started the defence housing review in February, and we aim to publish our housing plans in the summer.

[Lillian Jones]

I thank my right hon. Friend for that response. The men and women of our armed forces perform the ultimate public service. They and their families make considerable sacrifices to keep all of us in the UK safe and secure. Does he agree that the least we owe our servicemen and women is decent housing that they can proudly call home?