Lord Dannatt
Main Page: Lord Dannatt (Crossbench - Life peer)Department Debates - View all Lord Dannatt's debates with the Cabinet Office
(13 years ago)
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Lord Wallace of Saltaire
My Lords, I do not have that information. I promise to write to the noble Baroness.
Lord Dannatt
My Lords, is it not a great disappointment that over the past few years when extra funds were found for service family accommodation there now has to be a pause and that expectations which were raised are now going to be lowered? I accept that there is not the money for all the things that we would like to do, but when our soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen are heavily committed, it is a great disappointment not to be able to refurbish their houses to the timescale previously promised. Would the Minister not agree?
Lord Wallace of Saltaire
My Lords, we are talking about around 1,000 houses. We very much hope that serious problems will not arise during this three-year pause. We are doing everything that we can to avoid that problem. As the noble Lord will know, one in eight service houses turns over every year, because there is a considerable churn in Army housing in particular. That requires a constant programme of minor refurbishment, which will of course continue.