Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department plans to (a) review and (b) release (i) underused and (ii) surplus land to help meet housing targets in South and North Cotswolds.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is committed to reviewing its estate to ensure it is of the right size and suitable for Defence purposes, whilst supporting wider Government house building initiatives.

On average, the MOD releases enough surplus land for over 3,500 new homes a year.

Any new sites identified as surplus would be disposed in the usual way.

As set out in December, the Government has purchased over 36,000 military homes through a landmark deal to bring the military housing estate back into public ownership.

Alongside this, the Government kickstarted work on a new military housing strategy which will explore better use of MOD land to support the delivery of affordable homes.