§ 29. Mr. George HowarthTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to improve housing opportunities for ex-service personnel and their families.
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§ Mr. Archie HamiltonMy right hon. Friend the Member for Bridgwater (Mr. King) announced on 24 February 1992 a package of improvements on housing opportunities for armed forces personnel leaving the services. My Department is also taking steps, in the short-term, to provide assistance to those being made redundant, or who are not being re-engaged and who find themselves in housing difficulty.
§ Mr. JamiesonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many unoccupied Ministry of Defence units of accommodation there are in the city of Plymouth.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonAs at 31 March 1992, the latest date for which figures are available, 467 of the 2,858 service married quarters in the Plymouth area were vacant. Of these, 82 were undergoing modernisation, 61 were allocated to incoming service families and eight were in the process of being sold on the open market. There are plans for 170 dwellings to be sold to a housing association and a further 40 married quarters form part of the Ministry of Defence contribution to the Plymouth urban development corporation package. In addition, seven of the 12 civilian properties in the Plymouth area were vacant.