"Will make a difference", "Just a re-badge": £9bn Royal Navy housing overhaul analysed as policy announced

John Healey championed the Defence Housing Strategy in parliament on November 3 as a much-needed renewal project to support personnel in the Royal Navy, Army, and RAF. The government is investing £9bn to modernise more than 40,000 military family homes, with a Defence Housing Service will be set up to take over the management of service housing after years of complaints.

Around 56 per cent of service personnel are housed in single living accommodation and 40 per cent said poor accommodation standards had made them more likely to leave the armed forces. Speaking in parliament, Mr Healey said: “We’re making the most significant change to armed forces housing in 50 years.

“In six months, we acted to end the worst ever Tory privatisation to bring back 36,000 military homes into Public ownership. Now we’re making the £9bn investment over the next decade to bring those homes up to scratch, and supercharging the building of new housing on surplus defence land.”

He added: “We make demands on them that none of us would have to meet. We ask them to deploy at one week’s notice to the other side of the world, and move with their families across the UK. The very last thing they should be worrying about is whether their wives' husbands, partners, and kids, are living in cold, damp, leaking, and mouldy homes. We are ending the Tory scandal of unfit forces housing.”

What will the strategy do?

More than 40,000 military homes will be modernised under the new policy. New accommodation will be built across one third of the defence estate, with property standards being similar to high quality civilian landlords.

Renovation work on the 1,000 worst quality homes are currently underway, with promises being made to respond to maintenance queries faster and in a more efficient way. Named housing officers, under the military families consumer charter, will be assigned to each property - among other changes. Armed forces families will have “first dibs” are purchasing fresh properties on Ministry of Defence (MoD) land.

Long-standing issues of damp, mould, and infestations have persistently plagued armed forces accommodation. Some newly acquired homes in Portsmouth from the previous private overseers Annington were deemed to be “unfit for human habitation”.

Liberal Democrat MP Lee Dillon urged Mr Healey to make sure responsive repairs wouldn’t be put on hold for personnel in the hope of getting a new bathrooms or heating systems. The defence secretary said the standard of repairs, and associated response times, will improve. He added: “We’ve seen the number of complaints about armed forces housing more than half from the high of the previous government. There will always be complaints and problems. We can’t fix them overnight, but I’m determined that this can be a nation where we provide homes fit for heroes.”

Reaction

Portsmouth North MP Amanda Martin, Labour, said as a mum of a Royal Navy sailor, she knows how much the policy means to the city. “With over 700 military homes here, this plan will make a real difference to the lives of our service families,” she added.

“For too long, too many of these homes have been left to rot and fall into poor condition and that’s simply not good enough for our sons and daughters, who dedicate their lives to keeping Britain safe. I've seen for myself the work happening already in our city to bring these home up to standard, this is just the start. Portsmouth has always been at the heart of our nation’s defence and under this plan, it will be at the heart of rebuilding the decent, modern homes our military families deserve.”

Alan Mak, Conservative MP for Havant, dismissed the policy as a recreation of one previously held by the Tories. He added: “Our servicemen and women, and their families, deserve high-quality homes that reflect their dedication and sacrifice. We set out plans to buy back the defence estate and create a new independent Forces Housing Association, a serious long-term reform. Labour’s new Defence Housing Service appears to re-badge that approach without the same operational independence or delivery clarity. Labour must show this isn’t just another headline announcement, but a genuine programme that delivers better homes, faster, for our armed forces families.”

Portsmouth South MP Stephen Morgan, Labour, said the government will have the backs of armed forces personnel by delivering the modern homes their families deserve. He added: “I have long campaigned to fix the houses available to those who bravely serve our nation. The previous Government failed in its duties to our forces with too many service personnel, veterans and their families living in shameful conditions.

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“In an era where we must rely upon our armed forces community more with each passing day, it is only right that those continuously ensuring Britain remains safe from threat are provided the opportunity to live in a decent home.”

Dame Caroline Dinenage, Conservative MP for Gosport, said over 60 properties in her constituency were condemned as being “unfit for human habitation” and hopes the situation can improve. “it’s one thing to announce a policy, and another to deliver it,” she added.

“ have concerns that the Government is keeping the delivery of this Strategy at arms-length by tasking another quango to oversee improvements. Will there be accountability and will money be well spent? As always, the money needs to be there in the first place. Improvements on this scale will cost billions. Does the MoD have a plan in place to fund the actions laid out in the Strategy, or is this just wishful thinking? If delivery relies on disposing of defence assets, ministers might find these upgrades more difficult to deliver than the headlines suggest."

Suella Braverman, Conservative MP for Fareham and Waterlooville, has been approached for comment.