Recommendations & Conclusions
6 items
2
Conclusion
Fifty-Fourth Report - Improving single …
Not Addressed
Although many service personnel live in poor quality Single Living Accommodation and are dissatisfied with their accommodation and with the maintenance and repairs service, the Department appeared surprisingly complacent about resolving this long-term issue. There is considerable variability in the standard of accommodation, with more than one-third of personnel in …
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Although many service personnel live in poor quality Single Living Accommodation and are dissatisfied with their accommodation and with the maintenance and repairs service, the Department appeared surprisingly complacent about resolving this long-term issue. There is considerable variability in the standard of accommodation, with more than one-third of personnel in Single Living Accommodation living in the lowest-grade accommodation as of 31 October
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Government response AI summary
The government's response did not address the committee's conclusion regarding the quality of Single Living Accommodation for service personnel, instead providing a response related to the identification of clinically extremely vulnerable people by DHSC and NHS Digital.
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HM Treasury
3
Recommendation
Fifty-Fourth Report - Improving single …
Not Addressed
The lack of a minimum standard for Single Living Accommodation means the Department has no baseline against which to make investment decisions, or to demonstrate progress towards establishing an estate fit for the 21st century. Unlike for its Service Family Accommodation, and in contrast to elements of the housing sector, …
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The lack of a minimum standard for Single Living Accommodation means the Department has no baseline against which to make investment decisions, or to demonstrate progress towards establishing an estate fit for the 21st century. Unlike for its Service Family Accommodation, and in contrast to elements of the housing sector, the Department has set no minimum standard for Single Living Accommodation. Without a baseline it is difficult to set a budget for improvement work or to know how much needs to be done on the estate. Without such information, Single Living Accommodation will always struggle to compete for resources with other priorities. A minimum standard should reflect changes in the reasonable expectations of service personnel; for example, access to wi-fi, and the ability to be able to cook for themselves. As more than 50,000 bed spaces constructed prior to 2000 would not meet the current building standards if built today, we have concerns about health and safety standards, although the Department tells us that fire risk assessments are completed at least every two years. With an increased focus on environmental sustainability, the Department needs to invest now to meet targets; it has some work underway, including running low carbon trials. Recommendation: The Department should set and publish a clear minimum standard for the condition of its Single Living Accommodation by the end of the year, taking account of best practice in civilian standards and wider thinking on sustainability.
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Government response AI summary
The government's response is irrelevant to the recommendation, discussing variation in the Shielded Patient List managed by NHS Digital and DHSC, which does not address the call for a minimum standard for Single Living Accommodation.
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HM Treasury
4
Recommendation
Fifty-Fourth Report - Improving single …
Not Addressed
The Department’s lamentable failure to implement a Single Living Accommodation Management Information System (SLAMIS) over the past eight years means it is unable to manage its Single Living Accommodation efficiently. Project SLAMIS was initiated in 2013 to provide basic information on the Single Living Accommodation estate of a kind that …
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The Department’s lamentable failure to implement a Single Living Accommodation Management Information System (SLAMIS) over the past eight years means it is unable to manage its Single Living Accommodation efficiently. Project SLAMIS was initiated in 2013 to provide basic information on the Single Living Accommodation estate of a kind that any organisation managing property would expect to have. Progress has been very slow, and the project was cancelled, then restarted, and now should be in service by 2022. We are extremely disappointed at this lack of progress for such a simple system, and have seen the Department having similar problems with other IT systems, such as that supporting army recruitment. The Department is developing a bespoke system instead of using platforms already available, which seems unnecessary given that other organisations already have systems to meet similar requirements. SLAMIS is expected to provide accommodation booking facilities and a picture of how accommodation is being used. This should aid investment decisions and help better match supply and demand of Single Living Accommodation. Although a substantial amount of Single Improving single living accommodation for service personnel 7 Living Accommodation is unoccupied, Substitute Service Single Accommodation (SSSA) cost the Department £32.4 million in 2019–20, with a large amount of SSSA located in London and Bristol. Recommendation: The Department should report back to the committee in six months on progress with delivering the SLAMIS system, including to confirm when in 2022 it will be fully operational.
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Government response AI summary
The government response does not address the recommendation about reporting on the SLAMIS system's progress, instead discussing shielding support for vulnerable individuals.
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HM Treasury
6
Recommendation
Fifty-Fourth Report - Improving single …
Not Addressed
We are concerned that, although Commands have plans to improve Single Living Accommodation, this will only address the worst problems, and available funding may be used to meet other demands. The Commands have set out plans to spend a total of £1.5 billion on upgrades and new-build accommodation between 2020 …
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We are concerned that, although Commands have plans to improve Single Living Accommodation, this will only address the worst problems, and available funding may be used to meet other demands. The Commands have set out plans to spend a total of £1.5 billion on upgrades and new-build accommodation between 2020 and 2030. However, much of this is backloaded and focuses on the worst quality accommodation. The Department’s ‘fix on fail’ approach to maintenance has led to a huge backlog of works required, £1.5 billion across all accommodation, which will take time and money to reverse. The Department’s current expenditure is estimated to be only a third of what it should be spending to maintain the estate. Funding for Single Living Accommodation is not ring-fenced and it must compete with other demands on the defence budget, including equipment (which is around 40% of the total budget), which always takes priority. Depending on the outcome of the arbitration relating to the rents for service family homes leased from Annington Property Limited, there could also be further pressures on the overall budget and, in particular, on the amount set aside for improving accommodation. Since we took evidence, the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy has been published so the Department should now be clear about what additional funding is available for Single Living Accommodation. Recommendation: In the light of the publication of the Integrated Review, the Department should reassess its plans and the funding needed to improve Single 8 Improving single living accommodation for service personnel Living Accommodation, taking account of the promised minimum standard, and focusing on making as much money available as soon as possible to start addressing years of underinvestment. Improving single living accommodation for service personnel 9 1 The quality of Single Living Accommodation
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Government response AI summary
The government response provides boilerplate text and references unrelated reports on the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund, entirely failing to address the recommendation regarding the reassessment of funding for Single Living Accommodation.
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HM Treasury
18
Conclusion
Fifty-Fourth Report - Improving single …
Not Addressed
The management of Single Living Accommodation encompasses both people and infrastructure, and involves multiple stakeholders across defence. There is no overarching strategy for Single Living Accommodation setting out what the Department wishes to achieve or bringing together the aims of the various stakeholders.54 The Department has acknowledged a lack of …
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The management of Single Living Accommodation encompasses both people and infrastructure, and involves multiple stakeholders across defence. There is no overarching strategy for Single Living Accommodation setting out what the Department wishes to achieve or bringing together the aims of the various stakeholders.54 The Department has acknowledged a lack of governance and ownership and in response set up a Single Living Accommodation Expert Group (SLAEG) in 2019. This body acts as the central focal point for all work relating to Single Living Accommodation but lacks decision-making powers. The Department also created the Accommodation Coherence Group (ACG) to bring together the relevant infrastructure and people functions.55 The Department told us it will consider appointing a senior sponsor for Single Living Accommodation, look at the roles and responsibilities the post should have, and include it in the Defence Accommodation Strategy later this year.56
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Government response AI summary
The government explicitly addresses a separate PAC recommendation about reviewing SLA governance structures, which is not present in the provided text of this conclusion. It states agreement and outlines plans to enhance governance and confirm a senior sponsor by end of summer 2021.
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HM Treasury
24
Conclusion
Fifty-Fourth Report - Improving single …
Not Addressed
We asked for an update on the renegotiation of rents for service family accommodation leased from Annington Property Limited, on which the Committee last reported in 2019.75 The Department currently benefits from a 58% reduction in the market rent that Annington charges for these homes, but this is due to …
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We asked for an update on the renegotiation of rents for service family accommodation leased from Annington Property Limited, on which the Committee last reported in 2019.75 The Department currently benefits from a 58% reduction in the market rent that Annington charges for these homes, but this is due to end in 2025. The Department said that it and Annington had differing views as to what was an appropriate level of discount and as a result, the matter was subject to formal arbitration. The Department agreed that the sums of money potentially at stake are very significant and could, depending on the result of the arbitration, put significant additional pressure on the Department’s finances. The Permanent Secretary suggested that, if the decision went against it, the Department will expect the financial pressure to be absorbed by Defence as a whole, and not just infrastructure and accommodation. In an extreme situation, the Department might draw on its departmental contingency.76 72 Q 49 73 Q 50; C&AG’s Report, para 4.7 74 Q 51 75 Committee of Public Accounts, Military Homes, One Hundred and Second Report of Session 2017–19, HC 2136, June 2019 76 Qq 8–9 18 Improving single living accommodation for service personnel
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Government response AI summary
The government response outlines its broader Defence Accommodation Strategy (DAS), which will consider Annington Homes rent renegotiations as a 'key dependency,' but does not provide an update on the arbitration or address the specific financial implications raised in the conclusion.
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HM Treasury