Exclusive:
The Defence Secretary told The Mirror the state of housing was having a clear impact on morale, saying: ‘The last government corroded this nation’s moral contract with those who serve’
John Healey has slammed the Tory legacy on the state of housing for members of the armed forces as a “national scandal”.
The Defence Secretary told The Mirror it was having a clear impact on morale, saying: “The last government corroded this nation’s moral contract with those who serve.”
It comes after a damning report by the Kerslake Commission in May said that for many years accommodation had been “substandard, and in many cases unacceptable”. It found widespread problems with homes for service personnel, including problems with insulation, damp and mould, heating and hot water, and pest infestations.
The Commission – launched by the late Bob Kerslake, a former head of the civil service – said that despite promises to tackle the crisis, there was a growing backlog of urgent repairs.
It added: “Levels of satisfaction with accommodation among service personnel have fallen to record lows. Poor housing conditions and poor housing services are now cited as major reasons for the fall in overall satisfaction with service life. This is affecting morale and recruitment and retention.”
Mr Healey told The Mirror: “Our dedicated personnel and their families deserve better than this Tory legacy of damp and mouldy homes. It’s clear this is impacting on forces’ morale, something we are determined to turn around.”
He said the new Labour government was taking steps to improve the dire conditions and ensure “our forces will be treated with the respect they deserve”. The Defence Secretary said this will include setting new standards for service housing and creating a new Armed Forces Commissioner to improve service life.
At the King’s Speech in July, Labour said the Armed Forces Commissioner will “act as a strong independent champion for our service personnel and their families”. It will have the powers to investigate issues and access Ministry of Defence sites to inspect issues including accomodation, faulty kit, and work-life-balance.
Ministry of Defence surveys earlier this year also showed that just 10% said they would rate morale as high in the service as a whole – compared to 58% who said low.
The Armed Forces Continuous Attitudes Survey added that 40% of personnel in the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force are satisfied with service life. This is the lowest figure since records began in 2007 and a fall from 60% when the Conservatives entered office in 2010.
Data for those using Single Living Accommodation – digs provided by the MoD to some personnel – showed that 44% were dissatisfied with the overall quality.
