Oral Answers to Questions

Sarah Edwards Excerpts

Monday 20th May 2024 Commons Chamber

[Selaine Saxby (North Devon) (Con)]

13. What steps he is taking to improve service family accommodation.

[Sarah Edwards (Tamworth) (Lab)]

20. What recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of service accommodation for armed forces personnel.

[Rachel Hopkins (Luton South) (Lab)]

23. What recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of service accommodation for armed forces personnel.

--- Later in debate ---

[Sarah Edwards]

As the Department continues to sell off service accommodation for armed forces personnel, including at Whittington in my constituency, and has abandoned plans to allocate based on family size, does the Minister accept that this can contribute to lower recruitment and retention levels for the armed forces?

[James Cartlidge]

That is entirely why we are investing in our estate. I have mentioned the importance of the additional £400 million, and that is not abstract. It has enabled us to make a real difference to the accommodation of our armed forces by putting in thousands of treatments for damp and mould, and lots of homes are getting new doors, new boilers and so on. That is the difference the funding makes, and that is why our commitment to 2.5% is so important. It is not just about capability; it is about the homes of our armed forces personnel.