§ Mr. John MarshallTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many houses are owned by his Department; what is their capital value; and how many are vacant.
§ Mr. HanleyAs at 30 September 1993 the Ministry of Defence owned 72,178 service married quarters, of which 10,124 were vacant, and 677 civilian houses, of which 134 were vacant. The majority of the vacant properties were either undergoing or awaiting major maintenance work and modernisation, held for future deployments, awaiting units returning from overseas, already allotted to service families or under consideration for disposal. In addition 1,843 married quarters—1,150 of them vacant—and 512 civilian houses—61 of them vacant—were in the process of being sold. The overall capital value of the MOD's housing stock has not been assessed.