Defence Housing Service must set out how it will widen eligibility as a priority, MPs say

While scrutinising the bill, MPs heard that families affected have spent two years “in limbo” due to a lack of clarity on when the allocations criteria will be updated.

An interim policy was due to be announced by the government this month, but at the time of writing it has not appeared.

MPs also cited evidence from the government’s Defence Housing Strategy review team in their report on the bill, published yesterday.

The team found there was “inadequate planning and capital investment” to support widening families’ entitlement to housing and proposed it be part of a wider renewal and development programme, though they noted it would take time to deliver.

MPs also urged the Defence Housing Service to provide more detail on a new ‘zonal’ approach to allocations within the first half-year of operation.

This change in approach was explored by the review team and aims to reduce the number of times families have to move, after some had to change schools and GPs because they were put into a new local authority area.

Other recommendations by the committee to the Defence Housing Service include moves to strengthen accountability for contractors, including penalties for poor performance and independent inspections.

The organisation should also trial using people with experience of service life, such as current personnel and veterans, as local housing officers to ensure independent oversight of repair works in military homes.

MPs welcomed the £9bn 10-year plan to improve defence housing, and supported plans to build homes on surplus military land.

Clive Efford, Labour MP and chair of the committee, said: “The creation of a new Defence Housing Service is positive but needs to be accompanied by proper long-term investment in the defence estate.

“Further consideration also needs to be given to contractor performance, which the MOD [Ministry of Defence] has persistently struggled with in the past.

“The MOD needs to make contractors more accountable to make sure they provide service personnel and their families with the quality of housing they deserve.”

The full report can be downloaded here.

A spokesperson for the MOD said: “We understand how important it is for families to have clarity about their housing options.

“Families were updated on the next steps for widening access ahead of April this year, as had been previously committed, with plans set out for another 1,000 homes to be made available, including for those currently without an entitlement to service family accommodation.

“The Defence Housing Strategy, backed by £9bn investment, sets out a deliverable, sustainable ‘bricks and mortar’-led approach to widening access to accommodation through building new houses and bringing into use previously unavailable homes through upgrade works.

“We have already carried out rapid improvements to 1,250 homes, with another 2,000 upgrades planned this financial year, including to 1,000 homes which will be brought back online for use by service families.”