Service Accommodation

Defence Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 13 Jul 2023 Closed: 3 Sep 2025 Parliament page
In this inquiry into Service Accommodation, the Committee is considering current issues with service accommodation; the Ministry of Defence’s plans to improve services and modernise and invest in single living and service families’ accommodation; and what should be included in the Future Accommodation offer. This inquiry was originally conducted during … Read more
5 Recommendations
24 Conclusions
1 Report
2 Oral sessions
2 Events
Activity timeline 4 events
3 Mar
2025
Report published
11 Dec
2024
Report published
27 Feb
2024
Oral evidence
27 Nov
2023
Oral evidence
Oral evidence sessions 2 sessions
27 Feb 2024
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Panel 1
James Cartlidge MP · Ministry of Defence Major General Richard Clements · Ministry of Defence Mike Green · Defence Infrastructure Organisation Vice Admiral Philip Hally · Ministry of Defence
27 Nov 2023
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Panel 1
Claire Kober OBE · Pinnacle Group Craig McGilvray · Amey Jerry Moloney · VIVO Defence Services
Title HC No. Published Items Response
1st Report – Service Accommodation HC 406 11 Dec 2024 29 Response document linked
Recommendations & Conclusions
29 results
2 Conclusion
1st Report – Service Accommodation
DIO's poor contract oversight caused significant problems with FDIS accommodation rollout.
There have understandably been serious concerns about the Defence Infrastructure Organisation’s contract oversight of the implementation of the FDIS contracts for the maintenance and repair of Service Family Accommodation. DIO is accountable for the fact that there was no contractual … Read more
Ministry of Defence
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3 Conclusion
1st Report – Service Accommodation
Demonstrate DIO has learned crucial lessons from contract delivery failures.
The DIO must prove it has learned lessons from the failures in the delivery of these contracts. (Recommendation, Paragraph 36)
Ministry of Defence
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4 Conclusion
1st Report – Service Accommodation
Outline assurance processes and review performance measures for service families' satisfaction.
The DIO and its contractors should outline the assurance processes they have in place to ensure maintenance and repairs meet the needs of service families. The DIO should also review the performance measures in the RAMS and NAMS contracts to … Read more
Ministry of Defence
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5 Conclusion
1st Report – Service Accommodation
MOD's performance recovery claims demand demonstrable improvement in customer experience and trust.
The MOD’s claims of a recovery in performance need to be borne out in a demonstrable improvement in the customer experience and markedly increased customer satisfaction. Service families’ trust has been affected and the DIO and service providers need to … Read more
Ministry of Defence
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6 Conclusion
1st Report – Service Accommodation
Improved communication on maintenance for service families requires Home Hub portal.
There needs to be better communication with service families about maintenance work. Part of the solution lies in the introduction of the promised Home Hub portal, to give families access to information about maintenance work and the ability to book … Read more
Ministry of Defence
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7 Conclusion
1st Report – Service Accommodation
Prioritise development and rapid rollout of Home Hub portal to service families.
The DIO must prioritise the development of the Home Hub portal and roll this out to families as soon as possible. (Recommendation, Paragraph 53)
Ministry of Defence
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8 Conclusion
1st Report – Service Accommodation
Ensure Pinnacle's housing officers effectively resolve issues and complaints with partners.
If the housing officer role is to continue being undertaken by Pinnacle, then Pinnacle’s representatives must be more effective at resolving outstanding issues and complaints, working collaboratively with their contract partners. (Conclusion, Paragraph 59) Read more
Ministry of Defence
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9 Conclusion
1st Report – Service Accommodation
Summarise findings and outcomes of MOD complaints policy review in report response.
We understand that MOD were conducting a review of the complaints policy and process, and of the quality of contractors’ responses to complaints to improve the customer experience. We trust that work on this review is now complete and ask … Read more
Ministry of Defence
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10 Conclusion
1st Report – Service Accommodation
Service families experience significant frustration with housing allocation process.
The process for allocating housing is a source of great frustration to many service families due to the limited choice of properties and very little information available about them prior to moving in. (Conclusion, Paragraph 63)
Ministry of Defence
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11 Recommendation
1st Report – Service Accommodation
Ensure good quality photos and floorplans are accessible for all SFA properties.
The Government should ensure that there are good quality photos and floorplans accessible to service families for every available SFA property, as promised. (Recommendation, Paragraph 64)
Ministry of Defence
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12 Conclusion
1st Report – Service Accommodation
Contractors must improve preparation of homes for move-in to meet contractual standards.
The MOD has highlighted the preparation of homes for move-in as an area in which VIVO and Amey need to show improvement to meet their contractual Acceptable Level of Performance (ALP) requirements. (Conclusion, Paragraph 66)
Ministry of Defence
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13 Conclusion
1st Report – Service Accommodation
Clarify improvements to move-in process, guaranteeing acceptable home standards in time.
The DIO should clarify what improvements have been and are being made to the move-in process, to guarantee homes consistently meet an acceptable standard of decoration, maintenance and cleanliness in good time. (Recommendation, Paragraph 67)
Ministry of Defence
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14 Conclusion
1st Report – Service Accommodation
MOD preparedness relied on additional resources, raising concerns for future service levels.
The MOD successfully delivered in winter 2023–24 on its preparedness planning and carried out the remediation work that it promised. However, this was only achieved through additional resources. Service families need reassurance that DIO and its contractors can continue to … Read more
Ministry of Defence
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15 Conclusion
1st Report – Service Accommodation
Housing families in properties with damp and mould remains a persistent, unacceptable issue.
It is shocking that, until a policy change in 2022, it was considered acceptable to house families in properties known to have damp and mould. However, issues with damp and mould still exist. (Conclusion, Paragraph 73)
Ministry of Defence
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16 Recommendation
1st Report – Service Accommodation
Resolve outstanding damp and mould issues and publish annual remediation statistics by June 2025.
The DIO must resolve outstanding problems with damp and mould across the estate. In its response to this report, the Government should detail the ongoing work to eliminate damp and mould in SFA, including a timeline for remediation of the … Read more
Ministry of Defence
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17 Conclusion
1st Report – Service Accommodation
Implement measures to prevent recurrence of overdue gas safety certificates in service accommodation.
In a situation in which the contractor has no way of gaining entry to service accommodation without the occupier’s consent to carry out safety checks, and no option to cut supply, a very small number of properties are likely to … Read more
Ministry of Defence
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18 Conclusion
1st Report – Service Accommodation
Committee welcomes DIO offer to share key lessons on safety inspections.
We welcome the offer from DIO to share its key lessons learned on gas and electrical safety inspections. (Recommendation, Paragraph 82)
Ministry of Defence
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19 Conclusion
1st Report – Service Accommodation
Review adequacy standards and the assessment process for Single Living Accommodation.
While we welcome the MOD’s work in parallel with DLUHC to develop a new Enhanced Target Standard (ETS) for SFA, the MOD needs to review not only the standards it uses to assess the adequacy of accommodation, but also critically … Read more
Ministry of Defence
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20 Conclusion
1st Report – Service Accommodation
Single Living Accommodation failing to meet recruit needs adversely affects recruitment and retention.
Single Living Accommodation (SLA) does not always meet the needs and expectations of today’s recruits, and this is having an adverse effect on recruitment and retention. (Conclusion, Paragraph 102)
Ministry of Defence
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21 Conclusion
1st Report – Service Accommodation
Support for plans to create new-build Single Living Accommodation using modular construction.
We support plans to create much needed new-build SLA, using modular construction techniques. (Conclusion, Paragraph 109)
Ministry of Defence
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22 Recommendation
1st Report – Service Accommodation
Provide update on funding and completion status of new-build Single Living Accommodation projects.
We recommend that the Government provide an update on the funding and completion status of new-build SLA projects in their response to this Report. (Recommendation, Paragraph 110) 43
Ministry of Defence
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23 Conclusion
1st Report – Service Accommodation
New Defence Minimum Standard for SLA welcomed, conditional on rectifying unacceptable conditions.
The introduction of a new Defence Minimum Standard (DMS) for SLA is a long-awaited and very welcome step forward, if it ensures that personnel are no longer living in unacceptable conditions and does not simply result in sub-standard accommodation being … Read more
Ministry of Defence
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24 Recommendation
1st Report – Service Accommodation
Provide update on measuring SLA improvements and impact on morale after new DMS implementation.
The Government should provide us with an update following the implementation of the new DMS, clarifying how they are measuring improvements to the condition of SLA and to what extent the new standards are making a difference to morale and … Read more
Ministry of Defence
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25 Conclusion
1st Report – Service Accommodation
MoD's communication of new SFA accommodation offer proved inadequate for affected personnel.
The MoD’s communication of its new accommodation offer for SFA was inadequate for those adversely affected by the policy change, including those with rank-based benefits, to understand and respond to its impact on them. (Conclusion, Paragraph 133)
Ministry of Defence
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26 Conclusion
1st Report – Service Accommodation
Support for pausing SFA accommodation offer review, acknowledging personnel disappointment.
We support the MOD’s decision to pause and conduct a review of the accommodation offer for SFA because of concerns around retention of personnel. However, we recognise that this decision has caused potential disappointment for the 45,000 personnel in long-term … Read more
Ministry of Defence
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27 Recommendation
1st Report – Service Accommodation
Provide update to Service personnel on SFA allocation approach, timescales, and impact assessment.
The Government should provide an update to us, and more importantly to Service personnel, on its approach to allocation of SFA, with timescales and metrics for implementation. This should take into account the different needs of the three Services and … Read more
Ministry of Defence
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28 Conclusion
1st Report – Service Accommodation
Mishandling Modernised Accommodation Offer caused personnel grievance, impacting morale and retention.
By mishandling the implementation of the Modernised Accommodation Offer (MAO), the MOD has created a situation in which groups of service personnel are now more likely to feel aggrieved, whatever form the scheme takes. With a limited supply of housing, … Read more
Ministry of Defence
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29 Conclusion
1st Report – Service Accommodation
No announcement made on new accommodation offer for service families after government change.
The former Minister of State said that the Secretary of State would report the findings from the review in the Summer; however, following the change in Government, there has as of 3 December 2024 been no announcement of a new … Read more
Ministry of Defence
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30 Conclusion
1st Report – Service Accommodation
Mandate MOD and Treasury to make substantial, ongoing funding commitments for the Defence estate
The MOD has acknowledged that current levels of funding are insufficient to bring all service accommodation up to decent, modern standards and that “it is investment that ultimately will lead to the change.” In the current economic climate, and with … Read more
Ministry of Defence
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