Armed Forces: Housing

(asked on 10th February 2021) - View Source

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking in response to the National Audit Office’s recommendations in its report, Improving Single Living Accommodation, published on 3 February 2021; and if he will make a statement.


Answered by
Jeremy Quin Portrait
Jeremy Quin
This question was answered on 22nd February 2021

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) fully recognises that our Armed Forces personnel are at the heart of everything we do, and it is only right they are provided with good quality and affordable living accommodation. Providing such accommodation is one of the MOD’s top priorities, and work to improve our Single Living Accommodation (SLA) estate is an enduring process, which will continue to be driven forward through investment and effective management. We are grateful to the National Audit Office for their report and are in the process of carefully considering their recommendations.

Defence has invested £1.2 billion over the last decade on construction and upgrades of our SLA accommodation and continues to invest in a range of new-build and renovation projects. As part of the wider £200 million upgrade programme for Service Family Accommodation and SLA announced by the Chancellor and the Secretary of State for Defence in July 2020, Defence is investing an additional £78 million in upgrading SLA and the training estate between now and 2022. Further investment is being targeted within the Front Line Command Infrastructure Plans.

The new Future Defence Infrastructure Services Built Estate contracts will improve maintenance of SLA in future by enabling pre-planned maintenance of SLA to be prioritised and scheduled more efficiently across the Defence estate; adopting a ‘fix first time’ approach, targeting the majority of repair tasks being completed at a first visit; providing management information on the condition of SLA in real time which will support the effective maintenance of SLA and implementing new contract performance measures to provide incentives for suppliers to perform well.

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