Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he is taking steps to ensure that serving armed forces personnel living alone in service accommodation who are parents have time with their children.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) remains committed to widening entitlement to family accommodation to support personnel with non-resident children, as set out in the Modernised Accommodation Offer. The policy and timescales for these changes remain under review.

Currently, entitlement to Service Family Accommodation (SFA) is necessarily driven by personnel’s status as accompanied or unaccompanied. Those who are single, whilst retaining “Prime Mover” status for their child(ren), have a prima facie entitlement to SFA. Single parents with child(ren) who do not reside with them permanently are eligible to apply for surplus SFA where capacity allows; moreover, no Service person is required to reside in Service-owned Single Living Accommodation (SLA) or SFA and may choose to rent locally to better accommodate their personal circumstances. Additionally, the MOD offers support for eligible personnel to purchase a home through the Forces Help to Buy Scheme.

If residing in SLA, Serving parents with non-resident children may access Service-provided Contact Houses at minimal cost. Contact Houses are fully furnished ‘homes from home’ which seek to meet the needs of those with family or welfare needs which fall outside of the permanent accommodation entitlement criteria, and without imposing an unsustainable financial burden.