Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to assist armed forces personnel onto the housing ladder.

The Forces Help To Buy (FHTB) scheme aims to encourage and support home ownership amongst Service personnel, which has historically been lower than the general population.

Through FHTB Regular Service personnel can borrow up to 50% of their gross annual salary (to a maximum of £25,000) to buy their first home, move to another, or in exceptional circumstances extend an existing property. Since its introduction in 2014 FHTB has helped over 14,300 Service personnel purchase their own property.