The Armed Forces Covenant is a promise from the nation that those who serve or have served, and their families, are treated fairly. So why do we expect many of our soldiers, sailors and airmen and women to live in substandard accommodation?
That was the finding of the Public Accounts Committee who produced a report in April 2021 on the standard of military accommodation provided to service personnel living in single quarters. This report follows a similar investigation by the National Audit Office just two months earlier.
The Chair of the committee accused the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of sending “an absolutely terrible signal about the value we place on their work defending the UK and its interests around the globe. Providing decent accommodation is part of a promise the MoD makes to our Armed Forces in recognition of their service, a promise which is being roundly broken.” The Committee also suggested that the Ministry of Defence “has taken the goodwill of service personnel for granted.”
Those reports make for grim reading, finding that many servicemen and women complained of common problems with basics such as heating, hot water, limited storage space, poor or expensive Wi-Fi and a lack of cooking facilities.
The MoD admitted that unreliable heating was present in around 50% of this single living accommodation and 50,000 bed spaces would not meet current standards if built today. This position appears to have been reached, or at least exacerbated, by a ‘fix on fail’ policy and ever decreasing investment, with the estimated backlog of maintenance standing at a cost of £1.5 billion.
Poor accommodation is routinely cited by those who leave the Armed Forces as a factor in their decision and it is easy to see how the mental health and wellbeing of those who live in such quarters might be affected. Substandard accommodation can also be hazardous to the physical health of those who live there.
Our Military experts have been instructed to pursue litigation on behalf of a former Acting Corporal who developed asthma as a consequence of her exposure to significant damp which was present in her quarters. She left the Armed Forces after failing the physical training section of a promotion course, which she alleges, would not have happened but for her asthma. The MoD has admitted breaching its duty of care in that particular case, but that is unsurprising in light of the photographic evidence.
Those who live in privately rented accommodation are entitled to a minimum standard of living. However, no such standard exists for military personnel who live in single living accommodation, despite it being provided as part of the overall employment offer.
With proper funding, investment and a clear strategy, the needs of our service men and women will be at the forefront of our minds and we can put this right. The Select Committee and National Audit Office have made a series of recommendations which, if followed, will begin to put right these failings.
Our Armed Forces deserve better and as a nation, we have made a promise to look after those who serve. These two reports make clear that for many who live in these quarters we are currently failing in that promise.
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