§ 7. Mr. Brothertonasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will pay an official visit to RAF North Cotes.
§ The Under-Secretary of State for Defence for the Royal Air Force (Mr. James Wellbeloved)My right hon. Friend has no plans to do so at present.
§ Mr. BrothertonIf the Secretary of State or the hon. Gentleman went to North Cotes, they would realise that a lot of married quarters there are unoccupied. Will the Minister take steps, with the Property Services Agency, to make sure that these 100 houses that are unoccupied are made available to my constituents or anyone else who wishes to live in them?
§ Mr. WellbelovedIf the hon. Gentleman wishes to get a factual answer, he should put down a specific Question and not a general one. However, I think that I can help him. Of the 94 married quarters being retained for RAF North Cotes, only 23 are vacant and these are mostly for work services. Where there are instances of properties remaining vacant for a long time, we are only too happy to transfer them to the PSA in order to dispose of them as quickly as possible.
§ Mr. TownsendWould it not be sensible to relax the rules of married quarters in order to allow more single Service men to take advantage of them?
§ Mr. WellbelovedIf that were done, a wage cost benefit would arise that would affect the whole pay structure of the Armed Forces. However, this suggestion could be considered at a future date.