§ Mr. David ShawTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on plans to improve service housing.
§ Mr. RifkindWe indicated some time ago that our original proposal to improve the quality and management of the married quarters estate by establishing a housing trust had encountered difficulties. We have therefore been considering alternative options for achieving our underlying objectives of improving housing and management and transferring the married quarters estate to the private sector. NatWest Markets, the merchant bank, has been engaged to help us develop proposals. We believe that there is considerable latent value in the estate which could be realised with the introduction of private sector capital and expertise, for the benefit of service families, the taxpayer and investors alike.
Meanwhile, we intend to improve the way in which our married quarters are managed. I intend to set up a new, integrated, tri-service housing organisation to manage the married quarters estate as an entity rather than on the single-service lines on which it is currently managed. This organisation will be known as the Defence Housing Executive; and Mr. Michael Robinson, whom we appointed as chief executive designate of the housing trust, has taken charge of planning its formation.
The Defence Housing Executive will assume responsibility for managing the estate and its maintenance on 1 April 1995, bringing together the various separate staffs. It will be able to maximise efficiencies and provide a better service to service families occupying the houses. The organisation will be established in the first instance as a budgetary unit within the Ministry of Defence, but with a remit to move towards autonomous operation as a likely candidate for privatisation in due course. Much of the work we had already done in planning for the housing trust will be relevant to the new organisation, and I am confident that its establishment will work to the advantage of service families.