§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) pursuant to his answer of 1 April 2004,Official Report, column 1604W, on accommodation costs, what the housing needs of the Service personnel living in private rented accommodation are; [169472]
(2) pursuant to his answer of 1 April 2004, Official Report, column 1604W, on accommodation costs, what plans he has to provide sufficient service accommodation in the Greater Portsmouth area to obviate the need for service personnel to rent in the private sector. [169444]
§ Mr. CaplinAll families housed in Substitute Service Family Accommodation (SSFA) in the Portsmouth area at present are in need of 4-bedroomed houses. Two PFI projects will provide a total of 148 x 4-bedroomed houses at the former HMS Daedalus site in Gosport, which should eliminate the need for privately rented accommodation, even allowing for an expected increase in Portsmouth-based personnel. The new properties are scheduled to be constructed within about 18 months.
In addition, there is currently a need for Substitute Single Service Accommodation in Portsmouth, for personnel temporarily displaced by Project EMMA, a major project replacing 1960s tower blocks with new accommodation, projected to provide a suitable level of accommodation for many years to come. A Portsmouth Single Living Accommodation Study is on-going, designed to assess the single accommodation need in the Portsmouth area and ensure that best use is made of existing accommodation.