§ Mr. HendryTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many houses owned by his Department are eligible to be bought by their occupants; how many sales have taken place; how many applications are being processed; what proportion of the total these figures represent; and if he will make a statement on his Department's plans for increasing the number sold.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonAs part of a continuous programme, all Ministry of Defence civilian houses that are surplus to requirements and are not within a secure area may normally be purchased by their occupants. In the last financial year, 360 such sales were completed and 190 further sales are currently under negotiation. The remaining 700 properties are currently being retained to house key staff. The possibility of future sales is being kept under review.
In addition, my Department operates a scheme for selling surplus and vacant married quarters to service personnel at a discount.