Single Living Accommodation is a key part of the overall employment ‘offer’ made to regular service personnel by the Ministry of Defence (the Department). Around 80,000 personnel, more than half of the Armed Forces, live in Single Living Accommodation. However, for many years it has not been given the attention it deserves, suffering neglect at times of wider pressures on the defence budget. A ‘fix on fail’ policy has led to a £1.5 billion maintenance and repairs backlog across all accommodation, including Single Living Accommodation. Although there is variation in the type and quality of accommodation provided, much of the estate is old, and as of 31 October 2020, 36% of personnel in Single Living Accommodation lived in the lowest-grade accommodation. Of these, 3% were not required to pay a rental charge because their accommodation was so poor. Amongst service personnel living in Single Living Accommodation, satisfaction with the overall standard of their accommodation has declined from 58% in 2015 to 49% in 2020, with some personnel experiencing problems with basic amenities such as hot water. Despite this, the Department is only spending a third of what the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors suggest is needed to maintain the estate. As we have previously reported, low levels of satisfaction with military accommodation risks reducing retention levels among service personnel.
surely one way to fix that issue is to reverse it, instead on not requiring them to pay rent, make it that the equivalent rent is paid to them for living in it, so your paying the troops to live in it, that should ensure it’s sorted.