I am delighted that the Labour Government has announced its intention to publish a Consumer Charter for military families.
This document will give new rights to decent housing to more than 1,700 military families in Aldershot and Farnborough.
The Charter will form part of our Defence Housing Strategy, which will be published later this year, and which will set out detailed plans to improve the standard of military accommodation after 14 years of Tory underinvestment left it in a shameful state.
I’ve been campaigning on this issue since my election and you may remember that late last year I invited Al Carns, the Minister for Veterans and People, to Aldershot to see for himself some of the poor housing conditions that service families were experiencing (pictured above).
The Charter introduces basic consumer rights for forces families – from essential property information and predictable property standards, to access to a new robust complaints system. These will be underpinned by published satisfaction figures which will give families confidence in the improvements being made and to enhance accountability.
Under the Tories, satisfaction with the standard of Service Family Accommodation (SFA) fell to record lows and the Defence Select Committee reported that two thirds of SFA was ‘essentially no longer fit for purpose’. The Committee found that quality of housing was having a significant impact on Armed Forces recruitment, retention and morale.
The Government’s announcement follows its landmark deal, completed in January, to bring back 36,000 military homes into public ownership, including 1,742 military family homes in Aldershot and Farnborough.
This reversed one of the worst privatisation deals imaginable – undertaken in 1996 by the then Conservative Prime Minister, John Major – whereby armed forces married quarters was sold off and rented back at taxpayers’ expense.
By the time Labour entered Government, these rental payments had hit £600,000 a day, with homes run down and left to rot. Private investors cashed in while families lost out.
What this shows is that the Labour Government is prepared to step in when our national interest is at stake – just as we’ve done with British Steel.
And this historic deal on military homes gives us the opportunity to stop the rot and start the renewal of housing run down over decades, bringing real benefits to families across Aldershot and Farnborough.
The final detail of the Consumer Charter will be published by December, following consultation with military personnel and their families. You can see an outline here. If you are affected by this issue, please do send your comments or suggestions to me.
