§ Peter BradleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the impact on the recruitment and retention of service personnel of the standard of accommodation. [9797]
§ Dr. MoonieWe have no evidence of a link between the standard of accommodation and recruiting. However, continuous attitude surveys among Service personnel and their families do indicate that the standard of accommodation may influence personnel in making their decision to leave, although it is far from being the most significant factor.
We recognise, therefore, the importance of good quality accommodation for Service personnel and their families and we are committed to upgrading both Service Families Accommodation and Single Living Accommodation. In Great Britain the Defence Housing Executive is aiming to upgrade all of its core Service Families Accommodation to Standard 1 for condition (the highest grade) by November 2005. Furthermore, a project team was formed this year to oversee £1 billion worth of investment over the next 10 years to upgrade Single Living Accommodation. This money is in addition to the £1 billion that was already committed to the upgrade programme over the same period.
We believe that these commitments to upgrading accommodation will benefit all Service personnel and their families and thus have a positive effect on armed forces retention.