Army homes fall into ruin so that Gordon's friends in the City can live in luxury

An article in yesterday's Sunday Times exposed how wheeler-dealing by government ministers has allowed soldiers' homes to "fall into ruin".

When the government sold off the military housing stock - 56,000 properties - to the private sector back in 1996, the MoD remained responsible for repairs and maintenance.

When this sale of the century went through it was on the understanding that a significant part of the £1.67billion raised would be spent on refurbishing the dilapidated homes that soldiers and their families were having to live in.

So, guess how much of the £1.67billion has actually been spent on refurbishment and renovation: according to the Times, about £60million or 3.5% of the money raised.

And where has the remaining £1billion gone? To HM Treasury of course. And who has been in charge of HM Treasury since 1997? You guessed it, good old Gordon Brown.

So while our soldiers are being sent to the frontline knowing that back home their wives and children are having to endure damp, leaks and broken boilers, Gordon is happily giving away to his friends in the City the money that should have been spent on bringing their homes upto standard.

Nice one, Gordon.

Cuts on the Home Front undermining morale

A 'leaked' memo from General Sir David Richards, Chief of the General Staff, has pointed out the blindingly obvious: that returning home from a hard-fought tour in Afghanistan to sub-standard living quarters back in the UK is not good for morale.

And it had all seemed to be going so well: Project Slam developments completed at Northwood, Catterick and Perham Down, upgraded family quarters at Blandford, funds even being brought forward from future years to speed up the refurbishment programme. However the latest cuts to the Armed Forces budget is putting paid to all that.

Gen. Richards' memo flagged up that reductions in the Armed Forces budget have caused the refurbishment programme to stall and and improvement plans to be postponed. Cuts are having "a cumulative and corrosive effect on our soldiers and their families. ...... As Chief of the General Staff, I register an early concern about the impact on morale, the potentially severe downstream impact on retention, and our ability to sustain the campaign in the long term."

The General's comments came after he'd seen the results of an internal survey carried out at 'home' bases in the UK, Germany, N. Ireland and Cyprus. This survey showed the effects that the recent £100m cuts, and the diversion of resources to fund the war in Afghanistan, were having on morale across the Service Community. The survey highlights that there is a real feeling that Service personnel consider themselves undervalued by the government.

And its not only the poor state of military accommodation that is fuelling this feeling of neglect. Shortages in training and IT equipment, the axing of events like the annual Aldershot Army Show, the undermining of the harmony guidelines, extended times away from home between deployments, the threatened 20% cut in numbers, shortages of medics, etc are all compounding the problem.

Another concern is that after two or three successive deployments to the warzone, coupled with the sheer intensity of the fighting and the relentless pace of operations, there is an increasing incidence of both physical and psychological injury for the guys serving out there.

General Richards is perhaps unexpectedly broadcasting exactly the concerns of his predecessor, General Dannatt: that you can't fight a war with the funding profile of a peace-time budget. Last August Gen. Richards was characterised as being a subtle, behind-the-scenes political animal. Today, however, he may be turning out to be the vociferous champion that the Army badly needs.

The Mail: Troops' morale is in crisis at defence cuts, says Army chief

The Richmond Centre, Catterick: another Project Slam success

The Richmond Centre, a new combined Junior Ranks club and mess, has just been opened at Catterick Garrison. The complex includes a "super-diner", bar, internet café, shops and lounge and was delivered under Defence Estates' "key workstream", Project Slam (Single Living AccomModation) scheme.

As is customary these days, much of the management of the Richmond Centre and its facilities has been outsourced to number of private companies. In a similar vein, "stakeholders" (i.e. Junior Ranks) will have their meals served up in the Pay-As-You-Dine style.

Project Slam is a 10-year modernisation scheme started in 2001 with a £1billion budget. With 12,516 bedspaces already delivered by April 2009 and a further 6,000 in progress, the Project is proving a remarkable success given the MoD's track record on project management.

The Richmond Centre at Catterick sounds like a fine example of the quality facilities Project Slam aims to provide to UK Armed Forces.

MoD: Soldiers set to dine in style at Catterick Garrison
Defence Estates: Project Slam

Barratt Homes for Heroes

In recognition of service provided to the country by the men and women of Britain's Armed Forces, Barratt Homes are offering a Forces Discount on houses brought between now and the end of the year.

Timed to coincide with Armed Forces Day, Barratt's announcement will mean that service personnel will enjoy a 2% discount (£3,000 on a £126,000 home).

Barratt's boss, Mark Clare, has also donated £10,000 on behalf of the comapny to Help for Heroes. He said: "We have one of the world's best armed forces. They have had a hell of a challenging period and all business should support those who have given so much."


Nice one, Barratt Homes!

Barratt Homes: Special Discounts For Armed Forces On New Homes

The Sun: Barratt in Homes Help for Heroes

Service housing refurbishment accelerated

Recruitment is not the only area to be benefiting from the current recession. To boost the construction industry the MoD has announced that it is bringing forward from 2010/12 some £50million of spending on military accommodation which is good news for service personnel and their familes.

Defence Estates will be spending the cash on refurbishment of both Single Living Accommodation and Service Families Accommodation. Some of the sites that will be seeing the improvements earlier than expected are South Cerney in Gloucestershire, Woolwich in South London, Waddington in Lincolnshire, Lossiemouth in Moray, Condor near Arbroath, and Culdrose in Cornwall. Vice Admiral Tim Laurence, Chief Executive of Defence Estates, said: "More than 1,500 Service personnel will benefit directly from this initiative".

The Admiral also confirmed that customer relations would be another area that would see improvement over the coming months. Communication with families, especially those whose accommodation is in the process of being refurbished, and keeping them informed on progress will be a priority.

Defence Estates also want to cut the number of families living in privately-rented housing by reducing the number of void or empty properties by turning them round more quickly.

All good stuff by the sounds of it.

MoD: Forces accommodation to be refurbished sooner than planned
MoD: Colchester Garrison residents get glimpse of future
MoD: Defence Estates Chief sets out housing priorities
MoD: Refurbished quarters will improve facilities for Bulford soldiers

Defence Estates: Delivering solutions to economic needs

Despite the doom and gloom in yesterday's Budget, it would seem that Chancellor Darling can do something right. According to an article in The Sun, he has agreed to bring forward some of the spending plans for improvements to military accommodation: £50million of work originally scheduled to start in two years time will now begin in 2009.

The National Audit Office estimated that at the current rate it would take 20 years to bring living conditions for British soldiers and their families upto "condition 1" - the highest and acceptable level. So this initiative may reduce that by a few months.

These days of course talk is of £billions rather than £millions. If, as he says, the Chancellor is so keen to kick-start the economy then, instead of lining the pockets of his mates the bankers, he should be bringing forward the whole £3billion military accommodation programme thereby helping the construction industry and giving the military the housing conditions they deserve.

The Sun: £50m To Build Heroes' Homes

National Audit Office: Service Families Accommodation

MoD: Defence Estates
The Telegraph: Budget 2009: Our Armed Forces need far more than £50million worth of home improvements

Minister pledges homes for heroes

The Sunday Mirror is claiming victory in its "Homes for Heroes" campaign which seeks to get a roof over the head of every homeless war veteran and to bring in a support framework to help them get back on their feet.

Minister for Veterans, Kevan Jones has promised to help get 5,000 homeless veterans off our streets. He is reported as pledging:.....

• To launch a major initiative later this year to give troops more support while they make the transition from the forces to civvy street.
• To set up a one-stop shop which every veteran can contact to find out where they can get help.
• To get more servicemen and women on the housing ladder and to help veterans pay mortgages and rent.
• To make sure local councils treat veterans with respect and priority.
• To make sure that all government departments do what they can to avoid veterans falling into homelessness in the first place, but if that does happen, make sure that they get the full support they deserve.

The Mirror says that "the Minister has given guarantees about concrete action he is going to take to get Britain's veterans off the streets into halfway houses and get them back on their feet".

Working with national charities and local councils, new halfway houses are to be set up in Newcastle, Catterick, Manchester, Birmingham and other cities. The success achieved by such halfway houses has been seen with the Mike Jackson House in Aldershot and the Galleries in Richmond, North Yorks. Not only do these houses provide clean and safe short-term accommodation for homeless veterans, they also provide 24 hour support and career advisors. They provide ex-servicemen and women with the help needed to get them back on their feet, find somewhere permanent to live and get a job.

The Minister said "This country owes a debt of gratitude to all veterans. They have been to war in Iraq, Afghanistan and many other countries. They are a priority and need to be treated as a priority".

No one will argue with you there, Minister.

The Mirror: Victory for the Sunday Mirror in fight for homeless veterans
also
Veterans UK: Veterans Issues - Homelessness

Welcome home for the Royal Welsh

Soldiers of 1 Battalion The Royal Welsh Regiment and their families got a real welcome home when they returned to Cheshire following a two year posting in Cyprus. Waiting for them at Dale Barracks were 175 renovated homes on which £10million had been spent bringing them up to modern standards with new kitchens, bathrooms, roofing and insulation.
The refurbishment was carried out by MODern Housing Solutions, a purpose-built joint venture company, made up from Carillion plc and Enterprise plc, and forms part of the MoD's overall £8.4billion programme aimed at upgrading all military accommodation over the next ten years.
MODern Housing delivered this tranche of housing on schedule and this bodes well for the remainder of the project.

Link> MoD: Royal Welsh return to refurbished homes at Dale Barracks

Northwood HQ: New SLA units - Service Level Agreement met

Last week saw the handover of a new accommodation block for junior ranks at the Northwood HQ in Hertfordshire. The Single Living Accommodation (SLA) block consists of 148 ensuite bedrooms complete with TV, Internet and phone services. On each floor kitchens, utility rooms and common rooms have been provided to "enhance the comfort for all residents".
This is the latest phase in an £880 million project which has already seen the delivery of 199 new senior ranks SLA units; a further 131 SLA units for junior ranks are due later in the year. Northwood is not only the UK’s national operational defence headquarters but it is also the Permanent Joint HQ of the Chief of Joint Operations and a NATO Headquarters; quite an important place I guess.
The Northwood Development Project, which will refurbish and build both residential and non-residential buildings, is a joint Private Finance Initiative (PFI) venture between the MoD and Carillion PLC and HSBC Infrastructure Fund Management and is planned to extend over the next 25 years (that's according to the MoD; Carillion thinks its only a five year project). This development is another example of the MoD delivering on its promissed £8.4billion programme for the refurbishment of the country's military housing stock.
Commodore Eric Fraser, Assistant Chief of Staff at the Permanent Joint Headquarters (PJHQ), said: "Our soldiers, sailors and airmen deserve a good standard of accommodation and I am delighted we are now providing a standard fit for military personnel in the 21st century." Too right, Eric.

Link> MoD: New Junior Ranks accommodation opens its doors at Northwood
Link> Carillion PLC: Northwood
Link> MoD: Northwood Headquarters

Catterick's £350m regeneration scheme

Five firms are in the running for a £350m deal to regenerate Catterick Garrison town centre in North Yorkshire. The deal is part of Defence Estates' £1bn expansion of Catterick Garrison over the next 20 years, which will see another five battalions added and the army population swell to 25,000.

The development is seen as not only improving the military establishment but also making a considerable contribution to the civilian environment. It addition to 184 new homes, the development will include a health centre, shops, offices, an 84-bed hotel and leisure facilities. The first phase of regeneration is expected to start in January 2010

"It is important that for the 21st Century we achieve a well balanced community for both military and civilian residents and that these developments enhance the town’s image as one based on firm principles of sustainability," said Robert Manners, principle estate surveyor for Defence Estates.

Catterick is the Army's largest garrison and has a long military history dating back to 80AD when the Romans set up a camp at Cataratonium, near the race course - about time the place was modernised.

Link> Ripon Gazette: Developers line up for £350m Garrison project

Project Allenby/Connaught: Homes fit for Heroes

The announcement by the MoD and its partner Aspire Defence Ltd of the completion of further accommodation blocks at Swinton Barracks, Perham Down is further evidence of the MoD's commitment to its programme for the wholesale upgrading of the accommodation provided to Britain's troops and their families.

This latest release - two 36-man Junior Ranks Single Living Accommodation Blocks (JRSLAs) and four eight man houses - joins the 16 JRSLAs already delivered and together they make up the "Soldiers' Village" which provides modern accommodation for 760 soldiers of the 22 and 26 Royal Engineer Regiments. The Village also includes gymnasia, restaurants, laundries and leisure facilities.

Project Allenby/Connaught, a Private Finance Initiative incorporating Aspire, Carillion, KBR and Jewson, aims to transform garrisons across Salisbury Plain and Aldershot by providing fully serviced, modern accommodation for 20% of the British Army. These improvements are essential to the MoD and Army in their drive to recruit and retain high quality soldiers.

Link> MoD: First soldier's village completed under accommodation project
Link> MoD: Project Allenby/Connaught

Link> BBC: New housing for war heroes (video)

also

Link> Building homes fit for heroes in the 1930s

Blandford Camp: refurbishment of MoD housing stock

In January 2007 there were concerns in the local area that, with the planned relocation of much of military training to the new tri-service defence training centre in St Athan Wales, the long-established camp at Blandford in Dorset would be closed with the loss of 1,000 local jobs. Today however Blandford Camp, home to the Royal Signals, is in the vanguard of the MoD's £8.4billion programme for the refurbishment of the country's military housing stock.

170 family living quarters are being"upgraded" at Blandford at a cost of £7.8 million. At almost £46,000 per unit, this sounds like some upgrade - the accommodation must have been in a lot worse state than even the most severe critics thought. Knowing that there is a budget of £8.4billion to be spent over 10 years, can lead to "liberal" spending in the early stages only to find that six or so years down the line all the monies have been spent and there's not enough left at the bank to complete the programme (especially when inflation over the planned 10 years is taken into account). I am sure though that, given the MoD's track record on project managment and budgetary control, there is no danger of this happening here.

It is good to read that work is underway on upgrading and refurbishing military accommodation. Although it's disgraceful that many service families and personnel are going to have to carry on living in sub-standard accommodation for up to 10 more years, that the refurbishment programme is starting to deliver tangible results is to be welcomed.

Link> MoD: Defence Estates chief sees progress of camp makeover

also
Link> MoD: A History of Blandford Camp
Link> Dorset Echo: Defence plans will ‘devastate’ local economy
Link> AV: Housing complaints still roll in
Link> Refurbishment at Dale Barracks
Link> Project Slam: Refurbishment at Pirbright

Housing complaints still roll in from service families

The Army Families Federation has reported a sharp rise in the number of complaints it receives about military accommodation. Almost 60% of all complaints are currently about housing problems compared with about 40% in 2005.

In the AFF survey of February 2008, 56% of respondents said that, when moving into Service Family Accommodation (SFA), they found their new homes were not of an acceptable standard (due to dirtiness, stained and smelly carpeting, leaks, faulty lighting, etc). When complaints were raised with MODern Housing Solutions (MHS, the private company that now manages military housing) they only arranged to have 24% of the properties cleaned, the other 76% were ignored. The survey was completed in the main by families moving into SFA between early 2006 and January 2008; if the accommodation was in need of repair, 38% of families said that this work had still not been carried out.

It is not just about the state of the housing stock itself that an increasing number of complaints are being made; the rundown condition of the military housing estates themselves has also come in for much criticism. The AFF reports that graffiti, vandalism, rats, fly tipping and broken street lighting all contribute to make service communities feel unsafe and insecure and that derelict and run down play areas strewn with broken glass are putting children at risk. Prior to privatisation, dedicated wardens used to look after military housing estates providing visible security for service families. Since MHS took over the management of military housing in 2006, estate wardens are no longer used - apparently this is because the MoD failed to stipulate them in the maintenance contract and MHS naturally saves money by not employing them. As with all such privatisation deals, the commercial company will only provide the minimum that's stated in the contract - anything more would be lost profit.

Reminiscent of statistics which once emanated from the offices of GOSPLAN, the MoD however reports that its latest repair performance figures show that:

• 99% of calls to the repair helpdesk are responded to within two minutes;
• 99% of Emergency, Urgent and Routine repairs are completed within the right timescales; and
• 99% of properties meet the required move-in standard for Service families.

The MoD states: "We are committed to providing the highest standard of accommodation for our Armed Forces and their families. That's why we are spending over £8bn on accommodation in the next decade" - lucky MHS.

Link> BBC: Forces homes complaints 'on rise'
Link> Army Families Federation - Service Families Accommodation Move In Standards survey February 2008

Slum conditions at Brize Norton

The Sun today describes the slum conditions that servicemen still have to put up with, this time at RAF Brize Norton. It had been thought that, following the media exposure and subsequent public outcry about the disgusting state of many military bases, the MoD had got its act together and was making sure that in-use barracks were brought up to an acceptable standard - but this is clearly not the case. The description of the squalid prefab huts that the servicemen have to live in beggars belief. Where's the Government's duty of care here?
A serviceman commented: “Imagine this as the last place in England you see before you die for your country.... If prisoners were put in that dump, they’d sue and win a fortune off the Government. It’s the worst place any of us have ever had to live – and we’ve been all over the world."
It is good to know, though, that the Chief of Air Staff Sir Glenn Torpy and Defence Secretary Des Browne are said to be "very concerned" and the MoD are "figuring out a plan" to deal with the situation. The MoD promised: "We will make sure that whatever may have happened in the past, no service personnel have to stay in this accommodation in such a state in the future." Until the next time, then

Link> The Sun: Your final vision of Britain before you fight for country
Link> BBC: RAF base pictures prompt inquiry
Link> The Sun: Military chief's £20m mansion

Refurbishment at Dale Barracks

Defence Estates and their private business partner MODern Housing Solutions have adopted the time-honoured practice of property developers and opened up a show house at Dale Barracks, Cheshire so that prospective new occupiers will be able to appreciate the quality of accommodation that will eventually be provided.

A total of 185 family units at Dale Barracks are due for reburbishment by February 2009 ready for occupation by the Royal Welsh Fusiliers on their return from Cyprus. This project is part of the MoD's overall programme for improving its housing stock; 600 military quarters should be upgraded this year on a worst-first basis, followed by a further 600 in 2008/09, and 800 after that. Other current upgrade programmes include 151 houses at Invicta Park in Maidstone, 138 houses at Blandford Camp in Dorset, 81 houses at RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire, 35 houses at Carver Barracks near Safffron Walden and 24 houses at RAF High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire.

Let's hope that this urgent refurbishment programme doesn't go the way of so many other major MoD project's with year-on-year overruns resulting in final delivery many years behind schedule. If it's being project managed by MODern Housing Solutions perhaps there's a chance it will be completed on time.

Link> MoD: Show Home shows off improvements to Service Housing

£1 billion for Chelsea Barracks

Property developers have paid a record £959million for the Chelsea Barracks site. This is three times the Ministry of Defence's original estimate; no change here, then - the MoD invariably underestimates by a factor of three. The developers, the Candy brothers, plan to build 1,500 homes on the prime central London site. The MoD promises that the proceeds from the sale will go towards improving and repairing the residual military housing stock. However, you can bet the loot will form part of the £5 billion the Government has already pledged towards upgrading military accommodation rather than being in addition to it.

Link> The Times: Record £959m buys Chelsea Barracks for developers

Council Tax rebate for all overseas troops

The Government has announced that all Armed Forces personnel serving overseas will be entitled to a 25% rebate on their Council Tax bills. Up until now the rebate only applied to those serving in Iraq and Afghanistan and this has long been considered devisive. The change will mean that about 13,000 service personnel will be better off by at least £140 per year: not a great deal but, hey, it is something.

Link> The Sun: Troops get council tax cut

Project SLAM: refurbishment at Alexander Barracks, Pirbright

The tri-service Project SLAM (Single Living Accommodation Modernisation) was announced in 2001 with a £1billion budget and an aim "To upgrade progressively the worst Single Living Accommodation to 'Grade 1' physical condition by 2013, to provide servicemen and women with the quality of living accommodation they deserve". 10,000 new en-suite bedspaces were planned and so far 4,600 have been completed.

A further 147 new en-suite bedspaces are to be handed over to the Army at Alexander Barracks, Pirbright tomorrow.
Link> MoD Defence Estates: Project Slam
Link> BBC: Barracks opens new accommodation

Link> MoD: 'First class' accommodation opens at Pirbright

MoD stock condition survey - no surprises here!

The latest condition survey on the accommodation being provided for the Armed Forces paints a picture which will come as no surprise following previous revelations about the sub-standard quality of Britain's military housing stock.
The Ministry of Defence's own figures show that half of unmarried service personnel live in sub-standard military accommodation. Of the 165,0000 bedspaces of single living accommodation provided by the MoD worldwide:

• More than 80,000 bedspaces (48.5%) received the lowest rating - category 4
• Another 28,200 bedspaces (17%) fall into the second lowest - category 3
• 19,000 bedspaces (11.5%) are graded category 2
• Only 38,100 (23%) are in category 1

This is at a time when the MoD is paying rent on 8,253 unoccupied properties. 20% of married quarters are standing empty costing the MoD £28.7million a year. This largesse is being handed over to the private housing company which took over the properties when they were sold off by the Tories: that was a good deal then, wasn't it?
Link> The Telegraph: Service personnel live in 'substandard homes'
Link> BBC: MoD paying for 8,000 empty homes

Some good news: a £7.8million refurbishment programme is underway at the Royal School of Signals' Blandford Camp in Dorset.
Link> MoD: Twigg: "continuous improvement" vital for defence housing

Deepcut sell-off: Where's the money going?

The Ministry of Defence has confirmed that it intends to close down the controversial Deepcut Barracks in Surrey as part of its review of Army training facilities. The training establishment at Deepcut gained notoriety following the deaths of four recruits based there between 1995 and 2002.

Since those tragic events a lot of hard work has been carried out by the training personnel at Deepcut on turning the place around, improving the facilities provided and re-establishing its reputation for excellence; what is disappointing is this effort has not been recognised by the MoD.

It is believed that the buildings will be bulldozed and the land sold off to property developers. As the site is located in a prime housing area and could accommodate 5,000 new homes, the MoD should be getting a fortune from the sale. Let's hope that they do get the proper market value (as is not always the case) and that the proceeds of the sale are put directly towards providing improved training facilities elsewhere. Unfortunately, what may well happen though is that the loot will get subsumed within the overall MoD budget or put towards off-setting the cost of the war in Iraq.

Link> MoD Oracle: Deepcut Barracks Could Be Destroyed
Link> BBC: MoD announces closure of Deepcut

Link> The Sun: Deepcut may be bulldozed