Whitehall watchdog slams Britain's 'poor state' of military accommodation

The National Audit Office (NAO) said a ‘fix on fail’ approach to maintenance by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) had led to the build-up of a £1.5bn backlog of repairs in military accommodation.

It said the MoD was failing in its commitment to provide all personnel with high-quality subsidised accommodation, potentially undermining efforts to improve retention rates across the services.

As of last year, almost 80,000 service men and women – more than half the total – were occupying single living accommodation (SLA) blocks on either a full or part-time basis.

Of those, the NAO said more than a third – 36 per cent – were living in ‘poorer grade’ premises while almost 2,400 were in accommodation considered to be so bad they were not charged any rent.

Scores of sailors and soldiers across the Portsmouth area live in military accommodation.

One soldier from Portsmouth, who has served in the military for more than a decade, described the standard of some homes as ‘shocking’.

‘It’s disgraceful that you’ve got guys who are willing to die to protect their country – on a wage lower than a traffic warden – that are living in places like this,’ the soldier told The News.

‘I’ve heard some absolute horror stories of lads living in blocks that are literally crumbling around them.

‘The situation in some areas has improved. But it’s still a drain on spirits and morale, particularly when we’re having to spend more time in SLA during lockdown.’

Labour’s shadow armed forces minister and Portsmouth South MP, Stephen Morgan, echoed their sentiment.

He said: ‘This report shows that too often service accommodation is a far cry from the “homes fit for heroes” our forces should expect.

‘With more than half of the armed forces housed in SLA, substandard conditions present a serious risk to recruitment and retention.

‘The appalling prevalence of issues with basics like heating and hot water doesn’t live up to the promises made in the Armed Forces Covenant. Those who serve deserve better.

‘The Armed Forces Bill presents an important opportunity to make meaningful improvements to the day-to-day lives of those who serve.’

The armed forces continuous attitude survey found fewer than half – 49 per cent – were satisfied with the overall standard of their accommodation, compared with 58 per cent in 2015.

The NAO said that among the common complaints raised by personnel were issues with basics such as heating and hot water, limited storage space, poor or expensive wifi, and a lack of cooking facilities.

While the MoD planned to spend £1.5bn over the next 10 years on replacement and renovation work, the NAO said it could be ‘some time’ before there was any significant improvement given the decades of under-investment.

Gareth Davies, head of the NAO, said: ‘Decades of under-investment has left many of the barracks where members of our armed forces live in a poor state.

‘Problems with heating and hot water are not conditions that they should have to tolerate. MoD needs to get this right if it is to retain service personnel in the long term.’

Meg Hillier, chairman of the Commons public accounts committee, said it was another example of short-term thinking by the MoD.

‘Delaying repairs until the last-minute means MoD now faces a bigger bill to get things up to scratch. In the meantime, thousands of members of our armed forces are left living in sub-standard accommodation,’ she said.

‘These are the people we ask to go out and fight for our country. The least they should be able to expect is a hot shower and a decent roof over their heads.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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