20 Accepted

Improvements to Single Living Accommodation cannot be carried out in isolation because they overlap with...

Conclusion
Improvements to Single Living Accommodation cannot be carried out in isolation because they overlap with wider departmental programmes such as the Defence Estate Optimisation (DEO) Portfolio (to create an estate of a more appropriate size and better quality) and the Future Accommodation Model (FAM) (to provide personnel with a range of housing options). Interdependencies have been identified but the initiatives run to different timetables and are not always joined up.60 The Department informed us that the Defence Accommodation Strategy it is producing will draw together policy, infrastructure and delivery elements, and coordinate the dependencies between the infrastructure plans for Single Living Accommodation, the DEO Portfolio and current investments. It confirmed that the strategy will be written by the end of 2021 and will be published.61 53 Qq 33, 88–89 54 C&AG’s Report, paras 8, 2.3, 2.2 55 Q 76, C&AG’s Report, paras 8, 2.4–2.6 56 Q 76 57 C&AG’s Report, paras 15, 4.2–4.3 58 Q 68; C&AG’s Report, para 15 59 Qq 42–43; C&AG’s Report, para 3.12 60 C&AG’s Report, paras 17, 4.12, 4.13 61 Qq 85–87 16 Improving single living accommodation for service personnel Future funding
Government Response Summary
The government confirms the Defence Accommodation Strategy (DAS) will be published by the end of 2021, outlining how it will integrate policy and infrastructure plans for Single Living Accommodation (SLA). The department will also write to the committee by December 2021 detailing specific changes and plans to invest £1.5 billion over the next decade.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government Accepted
1.3 The Defence Accommodation Strategy (DAS) will be published by the end of 2021. The Ministry of Defence (the department) will write to the Committee by December 2021 to outline the changes it will include in relation to Single Living Accommodation (SLA). The department is implementing the National Audit Office (NAO) recommendations, including assigning the Chief of Defence People as the Senior Sponsor for SLA and reviewing SLA governance structures. 1.3 The department already plans to invest £1.5 billion into SLA over the next decade and, beyond that, the DAS will provide clearer strategic direction for the defence accommodation estate to a 25-year planning horizon. The Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) and single Services will develop clear delivery plans to sit alongside the DAS with regular monitoring and evaluation points to ensure that improvements and progress can be evidenced. The DIO and single services will be held to account for delivery of these plans through the department’s quarterly holding to account process and the Strategy itself will be reviewed regularly. The DAS will formalise the department’s vision for service personnel accommodation and outline how standards will meet the expectations of service personnel now and in the future. It will identify strategic dependencies across Defence-wide accommodation and infrastructure programmes including the Future Accommodation Model and Defence Estate Optimisation. It will also consider wider initiatives such as Net Zero Carbon and People Transformation, and key dependencies such as the Annington Homes rent renegotiations and DIO void reduction plans.
Addressee Bodies
HM Treasury
Timeline
Recommendation age 5.3 yrs
Report published 23 Apr 2021