I believe the the originator of this thread is referring to the Defence Living Accommdation Strategy (DLAS). From what I've heard on the subject Admin mole is spot on with his post. With regard to S41's questions:
Q1. How much are rents on the FQs that we (stupidly) flogged actually subsidised by?
A1. The last Tory Government (Michael Portillo) flogged virtually all SFA for approximately £7b in 95/96 (bottom of the last housing market dip) to get the government out of a financial hole. SFA rents are set by the AFPRB, you pay the same rent for a Type C or IV etc no matter where you live in the UK. I believe the rents are abated rather than subsidised. The abatement reflects the poor quality, lack of choice, poor location(under the airfield approach) etc. Thus SFA rent in the SE appears very cheap in comparison to the local market and not so much of a good deal at Lossie.
Q2. What proportion of the FQs flogged off are outside the wire? (And therefore more easily available to be rented or sold to civilians?)
A2. Not sure and it doesn't matter. If for instance they disposed off SFA at Waddington, the MOD would just knock the fence down around the SFA patch and build a new fence around the remaining MOD buildings. This currently happens when we dispose of surplus SFA at Units (see Wittering, Wyton etc) A lot of SFA patches aren't inside the wire. Disposals are listed here
http://www.annington.co.uk/
Q3 Because if FQ rents are currently reflective of the market rates, then
how much difference will this make?
SFA Rents are not reflective of the market rate. I pay £110 in SFA rent for my Type C (3 bed) SFA in High Wycombe. Great for me, not so great for the MOD.
The MOD is broke, the rent we pay for SFA doesn't pay the rent Defence Estates pay Annington Homes (Approx 4.5K PA per property). Therefore something needs to give, DLAS seeks to address this as far as I'm aware. Stats on RAF home ownership when I last saw them were Officers 60% and Airmen 40%. The £5K cap on the refund of legal fees on house purchase and sale hasn't increased since it was introduced over 10 years ago!