Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the level of support available to families and partners of members of the armed forces upon the breakdown of their relationship.

As stated in the newly published UK Armed Forces Families Strategy, we are committed to supporting all types of family across the Armed Forces community.

The Strategy and associated action plan have been developed from a robust evidence base and are the result of wide stakeholder engagement. The need to promote inclusivity and encourage an increasingly diverse Armed Forces is a central tenet of the Strategy, and supporting families going through relationship breakdown is explicitly referenced.

Every relationship breakdown is different but when the couple have reached the decision to notify their unit of a permanent separation, the serving person, as the licence holder for the Service Family Accommodation (SFA) and the partner with the entitlement to service provided accommodation, is obligated to inform the Loss of Entitlement Team who will issue the 93-day Notice To Vacate (NTV). The policies we have in place are focused on supporting non-serving partners’ transition to the next phase of their life and, where the service person also stands to lose their entitlement to families’ accommodation, supporting them to move into Single Living Accommodation (SLA).

This is often a very stressful time for both partners and of course, if relevant, children who are impacted by the relationship breakdown. In recognition of this, a Proportionality Exercise is conducted at the same time as the NTV is issued to determine if there are factors to warrant occupation beyond the 93-day period which will include schooling, medical or welfare needs. During this initial 93 days the non-serving partner is not liable for accommodation charges as these remain with the licence holder and the Loss of Entitlement Team will work with our welfare agencies to look at available options.

Emergency housing is provided by Defence’s Cotswold Centre for those returning from overseas or experiencing Domestic Abuse, along with contact houses for service personnel to have custody and time with their children in a safe and suitable environment.

Joint Service Publication (JSP) 100, Defence Holistic Transition policy, supports referral or self-referrals of partners and spouses of Service personnel to Defence Transition Services (DTS) which delivers a full range of transition support, providing tailored information and guidance. DTS can help with issues and provide support and guidance on subjects including health, accommodation, relocation, finance, training, education, and employment. Those who are supported by DTS would be referred to a Local Authority if there was a risk of homelessness.

The Ministry of Defence also works with the charitable sector at the community level to identify those in need of relationship support, improving awareness of existing provision and signposting to services. In addition, work is ongoing to promote understanding of Armed Forces life in the Family Courts system.