Private Eye - Mil Housing and the Mil Covenant

[Friedlander]

From Private Eye No 1308 (24 Feb - 8 Mar 12)

Mortar attack

THE government's much-heralded "armed forces covenant" is already being broken by the failure to address the dismal condition of military families' homes, the Commons defence select committee has heard.

While the covenant was brought on to the statute book last year with great fanfare - David Cameron declaring that it was "now part of the law of our land and the value we place on our armed forces is clear for all to see" - the Ministry of Defence was announcing first cuts and then, from 2013, a three-year "pause" in funding upgrades of dilapidated accommodation. This means clapped-out kitchens and bathrooms and endemic damp problems will stay.

Having described how forces personnel see housing as "a staunch pillar of the covenant", the chief executive of the Army Families Federation, Julie McCarthy, told Colchester Lib Dem MP Sir Bob Russell that "in terms of housing, it is probably fair to say that most families feel [the covenant] is
failing". Dawn McCafferty, chair of the RAF Families Federation, reported how, when the funding pause was announced just months after the covenant, "we got feedback immediately from families to say 'that's the covenant broken, then'."

The spending freeze will immediately save the defence budget amounts in the low tens of millions per year - peanuts next to, say, the £14bn spent on equipment. In the long run, as housing deteriorates, many suspect it will prove a false economy anyway. But that's not the only absurdity.

Military accommodation can be upgraded at public expense - but only when the military no longer uses it. Russell has pointed out that housing on his Colchester patch has been sold by the company that owns service families' accommodation, Annington Homes, to a local housing association that has upgraded it for social housing tenants using money from the Department for Communities and Local Government budget. This might be reasonable in isolation, but it's galling to military families living in worse housing on the other side of the road.

Annington, meanwhile, sails on. As Eye 1303 reported, chief executive James Hopkins trousered £2,632,000 (over two "Hesters") last year for doing very little apart from managing a captive portfolio of houses and selling a few, while two of his colleagues shared £3.3m. By siphoning its ample profits offshore as interest payments to its private equity investors, Annington itself pays no tax.

Whether the defence select committee takes a closer look at broken covenants for some and unimaginable riches for others will depend on chairman James Arbuthnot - which poses a dilemma. In 1996 he was the junior minister, under defence secretary Michael Portillo, who was given the task of flogging the defence housing estate to Annington!

[nice castle]

"now part of the law of our land and the value we place on our armed forces is clear for all to see"

Mission accomplished...:(

[Ali Barber]

It's part of the overall policy of "you play ball with me and I'll shove the bat up your arse".

[Courtney Mil]

As long as the occpants of "affordable housing" have lovely new interiors at our expense, I'm sure that will make those living in FQs feel so much better about their rubbish experience.

FQs have been going steadily downhill since they were (virtually) given to Annington. We gave them the houses, the MoD hire them back, Annington pocket the cash, the MoD even has to pay for their upkeep - except they're not. I wish I could get a lovely deal like that!

[Kreuger flap]

Brize Norton is a classic example of the worst housing in the Military. They are 1950's pre fab houses that should have been demolished decades ago. Some of them don't even have showers and most have mould growing in them. With the closure of RAF Lyneham it has only served to exacerbate the chronic housing shortage so it means people are getting SSFA, which is usually the dregs of the rental market because the MOD won't pay the usual upfront fees that private landlords require. At the same time the RAF person has to pay the top grade rent charges. To get around the shortage of private rental houses available they have reduced every bodies floor space allowance by 10%.
Floor space allowance!!!!!!!! Why not give everybody the same. Whoa can't do that. Imagine Courtney having to live in the same size house as a mere SAC.:eek:

[Courtney Mil]

I agree with most of what you say, KF. Everything apart from your last imagining; I think my house is probably smaller than an airman's quarter.

[BEagle]

Hardly the jewel of the Costwolds is Cartoontown. Yet typical rental for a 3-bed house is £900-£1000 pcm; a 3-bed semi in Base Hangar View is about £250K.

Those wretched pre-fabs were put up in SAC days - with an expected life of about 10 years. Nearly 50 years later, they're still there.

Not for nothing did I once describe them as 'Soweto'....

[racedo]

Would have been cheaper to sell them to BTL investors and avoid the middleman and treat them in same way as Private rental market with an onsite accom agency responsible in same way as rental agency is for property.

Course that would be logical but less corporate donations to Political parties achieved by doing that.

[Pontius Navigator]

Still it beats the brown paper bag and the puddle for a bathroom in the '60s.

AKA the base caravan site for those ineligible for MQs.

[BEagle]

How quaint that must have been....:\ Was yours in periwinkle blue with a number of 'dags' running about outside?

I have an old copy of Royal Air Force Flying Review from July 1953 and yes, there are indeed a goodly number of advertisements for caravans as "your home on the 'drome".... Including:

For Trailer Caravans with the Feminine Touch, come to Doris Strowbridge, concessionaire of the People's Caravan.

4 berths, 3 rooms, 2 doos, toilet compartment, end kitchen, double panelled and insulated, light oak furniture, including 2 wardrobes, inerior sprung beds, gas equipped, complete with curtains, lino, door mats, chairs, heating stove, cylinder.

Only £320 ex works.

Mind you, if the 'feminine touch' was provided by the rather forbidding looking woman in the advert (perhaps Doris herself?), you'd certainly have known about it!

[Pontius Navigator]

BEagle, fortunately no. My one and only was at St Evil in the 70s. We had the original Crital windows that had been painted - shut! Someone had made an excellent attempt at opening one and managed to get some of it opened by 3 inches. We sealed the gap with the Sunday Times.

On the march out day the DOE chap turned up to fix the window. He managed to get it fully open. Only snag was he broke the glass in the process. The guy doing the proxy march-in accepted it no problem.

We had a 'pet' seagull. It lived in the kitchen cavity wall and kept an eye on Mrs PN through a hole in the outside window sill. Our bedroom had plastered walls. Only problem was the plaster was not actually attached to the walls.

And so on.

You mentioned blue - an airman's quarter had blue painted brick inside - no plaster just layer upon layer of paint in varying shades of blue.

[sitigeltfel]

At Bawtry there were a number of hirings in the civvy part of the town that were taken on by the RAF to ease the quarters waiting list. They removed the C/H radiators from the bedrooms in the houses allocated to airmen and NCOs because they were not entitled to full central heating. :ugh:

[Kreuger flap]

Quite right to. If the "Other Ranks" wanted full central heating then they should have damn well worked harder at school and got some "O" Levels That would have allowed them to apply for a Commission. They will be wanting windows next.:=

[Jimlad1]

"Quite right to. If the "Other Ranks" wanted full central heating then they should have damn well worked harder at school and got some "O" Levels That would have allowed them to apply for a Commission. They will be wanting windows next"

Steady man, windows is only the start. Before you know if the other ranks will be demanding things such as a roof, doors, and the legal protection to not be horsewhipped by their social betters for having the audacity to be alive. And if we live in a country where that sort of nappy wetting, pant filling, nipple sucking, liberatarian rubbish is encouraged, then I fear for the very future of the Empire. Herrumph.

Going mildly back O/T, of course if people don't like their quarter, they could do what everyone else in the real world does and rent / buy somewhere nicer and take the financial / commuting hit :E

[Rigga]

Mid-80s - myself and others "Gen-App"d to leave the (1960's) quarters on camp as we couldn't afford to run 'em!

Coal for the Parkray Back-boilers was the time was rare and soooo expensive (thanks to Arfur and his mobs) and the Czech coal that arrived needed to be gas heated to light (it was Power Station coal, I believe!) I returned mine that day to be told Coal for houses could be another week's waiting. Both Daughters (1 & 4 years) got Croup!

The Families Office collected evidence of expense from anyone who wanted to show a bill or even an estimate - and the next year the Groupie had gas heating installed in the whole estate - not possible now I believe?

[Pontius Navigator]

Jimlad, nice thought but everyone else can chose where to work/buy/rent. Once you have taken the shilling you forego that choice.

CS subsistence payments were as hansome as the military ones were niggardly.

As a CS you are well aware that CS relocation allowances far exceed those paid to Servicemen. You will also be aware that the CS education allowances used to outstrip those of Servicemen by a hansome margin.

The Serviceman's preception is that the CS feathered its nest ahead of the Serviceman.

You would be better employed explaining that the CS bonus system was mandated by the Treasury and financed by a 10% reduction in salary. That is has been tweaked continually from the very first year of inception.

Tread carefully.

[Kreuger flap]

Jimlad, nice thought but everyone else can chose where to work/buy/rent. Once you have taken the shilling you forego that choice.

Utter rubbish. You can live anywhere you like. The RAF don't dictate where you have to live.:ugh:

[alfred_the_great]

PN and KF - wrong, absolutely wrong.

Indeed, a significant proportion of the CS can be told to move their job as their grade is mobile. And they will receive absolutely no money for having to do this. Perhaps some time on the CS 'People Services' part of the Defence Intranet might be a little instructive?

[Kreuger flap]

Perhaps some time on the CS 'People Services' part of the Defence Intranet might be a little instructive?

Are you mad? I would much rather spend the time slamming my old pecker in one of our filling cabinet drawers than read what the bloody civil service are up to.

[Seldomfitforpurpose]

Jimlad, nice thought but everyone else can chose where to work/buy/rent. Once you have taken the shilling you forego that choice.



Apart from my time in NI I cant think of a single time where I could not have lived where I wanted to, even back in 79 when first married we could have bought in Chester as opposed to living in quarters at Sealand had we chosen to do so.

No choice, what a quaint notion :ok:

[NutLoose]

Been wanting an excuse to post this...

Dad's RAF photos from the 1950's (http://www.rhaywood.karoo.net/personal/raf/raf.html)

Scroll down past the High Speed launches and the answer is there... How the RAF used to ermmmm do it.

[Jimlad1]

PN - Put politely, I suspect you may be out of date on your briefings. I can tell you as someone who has served as CS, and in uniform, that the Military transfer and housing and allowance system is far, far more generous than the CS one.

In a nutshell, under the current system, then unless you are a member of a development scheme ( under 400 people out of 83000 at present), or unless you are in the Redeployment Pool (under a couple of thousand last time I looked), then no transfer allowances are usually offered, no assistance with second homes is provided, and all job moves are out of the CS's own pocket. If you harbour a realistic hope of a career, then expect to move jobs or locations at least every 2-3 years and expect zero financial assistance with this. This is in very sharp contrast to how Forces personnel are treated.

If I am lucky enough to warrant an allowance as a CS to run a second home on detached duty, then I can attest from personal experience a couple of years ago that the system is nowhere near as generous as you think. I was routinely a couple of hundred a month out of pocket running two homes, for the sake of career. Thats life in a pinstripe suit, and not a whinge - but please don't think that the military are all being shat upon at great height, while CS live lives of luxury in mansions - nothing could be further from the truth.

Nowadays a serviceman can live whereever he or she wants to live in the UK. They have the options of living in messes / quarters /private hirings or family home. Dont' get me wrong - I think it is vital that we provide good quality accommodation to people to enable family life, and support it where possible, but it is not a case that the serviceman has no option but to live in a quarter. There are other options - not always easy, not always convenient, but that is the same for anyone who has to work away from the location that they chose to make their proper home.

I have huge reserves of sympathy for forces families and think it is vital that they are well looked after. But, I am afraid that my sympathy dries up when people try to make out that in the UK they have no choice but to live in MOD accommodation. There are other options, they may not be ideal, but no one is holding a gun to your head and saying 'live here or else'. Of course commuting is a pain, I've heard horror stories of the BZN and Lyenham farce, and I wouldnt wish that on anyone. But long drives, annoying starts and stuff like this is unfortunately what the real world is all about.

I sometimes worry dealing with people coming out of the forces that a lot of them have gotten too used to being on the patch, or close to the office, and that they dont understand that a 45 minute - 1hr drive/train ride to work is considered normal for many people. Its a pain, its not nice, but that is what many of us do day in day out, without having a Mess, or subsidised accommodation as a fallback.

[BEagle]

Thanks for sharing those priceless photos, NutLoose!

I wonder what became of that old trolley bus? It looked very well fitted out inside, no doubt your father's own handiwork?

That Keystone Cops moment under the railway bridge (which sounds very much like the A43 bridge under the LMS main line in Kettering - it has a 13ft height limit to this day!) must have been priceless! A good thing that the roads were rather less busy back then!

[NutLoose]

I found the site ages ago and it made me smile then, not my site, but was just showing things are never as bad as the seem today, sorry if my post Inferred it was mine :)

[A2QFI]

That's a morale booster in these difficult times

Married soldiers living in Army accommodation will be forced out of their homes under cost-cutting proposals being considered by the Ministry of Defence.
The move, which would lead to thousands of people from the Armed Forces being driven into the commercial property market, is part of a plan to reduce Services accommodation under a “New Employment Model”.
It indicates a potential shift away from the tradition of encouraging soldiers to move with ease around the country and overseas with their spouses and children.
Subsidised military housing for those with families is a career-long entitlement and has been referred to as a “staunch pillar” of the military covenant that the coalition has pledged to uphold. The MoD is discussing ending the right to a home after eight years of service.
One former head of the Army said that he understood the need to reduce the bill for accommodation, but that additional funds must be made available to buy or rent private property with ease.
If not, the MoD risked creating a system of “weekly boarders”. “It is not the right way to be. We have enough forced separation through deployment and training exercises,” General Lord Dannatt said.
Morale in the Armed Forces is already low after thousands of redundancies.

[FODPlod]

NL - I am frequently astounded by new discoveries on the web. Thank you for sharing that one. It's priceless.

My father served in the RAF and won the war. He was sent to India immediately after his training as a radio/radar mechanic and the Japanese surrendered three days later. However, they left him out there for another two years just to make certain.

[Courtney Mil]

That's brilliant, Nutloose. Thanks for sharing it.

[Whenurhappy]

It was great to follow that link - great images.

I've also had a good laugh at some of the anal-retentive policies that were applied to housing in times gone by. I was shocked, much, much more recently when I visited a friend of mine serving on an ISODET in Germany. There are no quarters locally so properties are rented via the German Authorities ('hirings') and UK standards are then applied - sort of. A fellow officer was moved into a 6 bedroomed house, after many months of waiting. During the Move In ('March In' in old currency), the Housing Officer insisted that the landlord lock off two of the bedrooms! Another officer was moved into a very nice hiring after 13 months in temporary accommodation, and the Housing Officer insisted that the garden pond (which was fenced) was filled in and the sauna was disconnected, even though the occupant had agreed to accept the risks and understood it could cost more to run.

Bonkers.

[Courtney Mil]

Nice to see people screwing over their own colleagues. Why am I not surprised? As you rightly say, BONKERS!

[Widger]

A2QFI,

Could not read your full link as I am not a subscriber but I got the jist. It is visibility of stuff like this that led me to get out last year. The MoD is skint. More is to come. I will be interested to see what happens when the SFA contract comes up for renewal. Wait until the MoD sells off your mess and gets the likes of Holiday Inn to provide Single Living accomodation at commercial prices.

It is in their interests to :

1. Force service personnel into their own homes. This is why every attitude survey contains the question 'would you like to own your own home?' This then gives them the ammunition to justify policies that go against providing service accomodation. Well of course I would like to own my own home but, not at any expense!

2. Encourage people to leave of their own volition, thereby avoiding the costs of redundancy etc.

[Courtney Mil]

A2, Widger,

I couldn't see it all either, but heard it on the Today Programme this morning. I agree with all you both say and I also go back to what I've been saying for 10 years or more, the whole SFA deal is a disgrace; the tax-payer and service families are all being ripped-off; it's shabby and deceitful. In thruth, this isn't really news, just another episode in a long-running, shameful series of moves that serve to save Government money at the serviceman's expense whilst lining the pocket of Annington Homes!

[thefodfather]

The idea of making people live in their own accomodation is a nice idea in theory and might actually work if the constant mis-management of MoD didn't lead to continual reorganisation and the resulting moves. How many places have had millions wasted on them only to close shortly afterwards.

I remember many years ago on IOT, my flight did a brief for a design of the RAF from a blank sheet of paper and worked out that locating everyone in one place at an RAF supertown would pay for itself with the money saved on T&S/ Re-location. I also remember being told by the DS what a stupid idea we had.

Roll forward 15 years and here we are. Sadly, change will continue in such a way that the politicians will prevent decent forward planning and the salami slicing will continue.

I feel scared for those that are left and hope the situation improves sometime soon.

[sitigeltfel]

A pilot with the Armée de l'Air near here lives on a large house boat which he and his wife run as a B&B. Any time he is posted they just move the boat to the closest suitable river location to his new base and change the details on their booking site.

[A2QFI]

One has to wonder what has happened to the money raised by the sale of Bracknell Staff College site, Chelsea Barracks and the, presumably, forthcoming disposal of the St John's Wood Barracks used by a cavalry unit (RHA).

Probably funding IVF for illegal immigrant lesbians, inter alia; safe bet the military budget hasn't seen any of it!

[Pontius Navigator]

A navigator colleague of mine, ex-C130, did just that when at Finingley. I am sure he had the routes and potential moorings sorted out for all his likely moves.

They posted him to St Mawgan OCU and then ISK. He managed to get a posing on to Snoopy. IIRC his next posting was ASI.

The posters have a sense of humour andseem to stuff you at every turn. If you accept then that is another happy customer. If you fight you might win one round.