Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government what was the purchase price of the Ministry of Defence housing from Annington; how the monies paid to Annington are accounted for in Ministry of Defence and national accounts; and whether the purchase price will be transferred to the Defence Housing Service as a debt owed alongside the assets.

The total cost of the 2024 repurchase of 36,347 Service Family Accommodation properties from Annington Property Ltd, was £5.99 billion with additional transaction, advisory and legal costs of £ 6.6 million. The accounting for Annington Deal was completed in financial year 2024-25 in Ministry of Defence (MOD) accounts. How it was accounted for in national accounts is a matter for His Majesty’s Treasury.

Eliminating the liabilities associated with the leases created budgetary headroom to partially fund the purchase, meaning that the public expenditure impact of the measure, and the impact on public sector net debt, was confined to £1.7 billion. There is no debt in the MOD and therefore no debt to transfer to the Defence Housing Service.