§ Mr. JenkinsTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many UK armed services personnel on average in the last five years were(a) barracked within the UK and (b) have a private residence that is not provided by the armed forces. [108730]
§ Dr MoonieThe number of people barracked within the UK has been interpreted to mean the number of Service personnel occupying publicly funded accommodation (both Service Family Accommodation (SFA) and Single Living Accommodation (SLA)) in mainland United Kingdom (Great Britain) for the last five years. The number of Service personnel occupying SFA and SLA is as follows:
SFA Year (as at 1 April) Number occupying SFA 1999 46,297 2000 44,988 2001 43,629 2002 42,320 2003 40,970 SLA
Historical data on the number of Service personnel occupying SLA in Great Britain is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. However, the Armed Forces Pay Administration Agency (AFPAA) has identified that as at 10 April 2003, some 44,428 Service personnel were paying the Single Living Accommodation charge as a result of their occupation of this accommodation in Great Britain. This is not the total picture because a number of personnel are entitled to live in SLA without charge; but again data on this is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Ownership and occupation of private property
Stastistis on the number of Service personnel who own a private residence are not collected. However, the following table identified the proportion of Service personnel who said that they own their own home in the Services' Continuous Attitude Surveys, which has then been applied to the total strength of each Service to give an indication of the number of personnel who own their own home (as at 1 April 2002):
48W
Service Percentages of personnel who own their own home Number of personnel who own their own home RN 71 29,560 Army 35.5 39,067
Service Percentages of personnel who own their own home Number of personnel who own their own home RAF 47.5 25,177 Total — 93,804 Note:
Historical data is not available.