Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to improve the quality, maintenance and availability of service family accommodation in Scotland.

The Defence Housing Strategy sets out our vision for military housing across the UK, including the Devolved Nations.

The Defence Housing Service will deliver the recommendations of our new Defence Housing Strategy which is backed by £9 billion of investment to build, renew and repair 9 in 10 defence family homes, harnessing the opportunities created by our landmark deal which brought 36,000 properties into public ownership.

We have transformed 1,000 of the worst homes ahead of schedule in time for Christmas, with hundreds more military properties to be upgraded by Spring 2026. Over 50 of these homes were in Scotland.

A new demand and supply forecasting model will ensure that the future needs of the Armed Forces are more accurately planned for, enabling us to deliver housing in the right places to support military operations and reducing the number of homes that lie empty.

The Defence Secretary, John Healey MP visited Helensburgh in January 2026 to mark the impact the new Armed Forces Bill will have on Scottish personnel and their families, including those in Kinloss and Victoria Barracks. Whilst in Scotland, he saw first-hand the rapid improvement works that were completed for over 50 military families in Helensburgh in time for Christmas last year and work underway for a further 170 homes which will be completed this year.

We continue to drive for both improved performance and increased value for money from the Accommodation Industry Partners who are responsible for the maintenance of Service Family Accommodation. Performance is monitored on a monthly basis including oversight at Chief Executive level and through a series of regular reviews, including external audits.