Single Living Accommodation (Hansard, 14 March 2001)

§ Mr. Hoon

Much of the living accommodation provided for Service personnel and their families is of good quality. But it is not consistently so. We have in hand a major upgrade programme for Service families' accommodation in Great Britain, with the aim of bringing core stock to modern standards by late 2005. The quality of the accommodation provided for single Service personnel also leaves much to be desired. This Government are determined that all those who serve their country are provided with good accommodation. So a significant proportion of the new money provided to the Defence budget in Spending Review 2000 will be devoted to a major and sustained upgrade programme for single living accommodation. Together, existing and new projects, including PFI, will see investment in this area reaching around £200 million per year. We intend to apply the principles of "Smart Construction" to this programme, achieving greater efficiency and economies of scale through prime contracting and close collaboration with the building industry.