Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 6
6
The Department has still not tackled the long-known problems with the poor quality of its...
Conclusion
The Department has still not tackled the long-known problems with the poor quality of its estate, which continue to harm the well-being of service personnel. The condition of living accommodation is vitally important for the Armed Forces’ ‘lived experience’, yet the latest survey on their views and experiences shows continuing dissatisfaction with accommodation and its maintenance. The Department has not resolved the indefensibly longstanding issue of the estate’s poor condition, 30% of which is in an unacceptable condition. It has operated a’ fix on fail’ approach to maintenance for more than a decade, although increased investment following the 2020 Spending Review will enable it to use preventative maintenance at more sites. In June 2021, it let new estate maintenance contracts—valued at more than £2 billion during the next seven years—but there remains a risk of repeating the failed approach we have seen on previous contracts. In addition, the Department continues to grapple with a range of estate-related projects. The pilots of the Future Accommodation Model have been long-delayed, and it remains uncertain whether the outcome will provide personnel with what they want, especially post-COVID. The Department is in arbitration with Annington Homes to negotiate a reasonable rent, and it needs to ensure an orderly exit from other PFI arrangements as they end over the next five years. Recommendation: The Department must demonstrate to the Committee in its annual update how its commitment of appropriate resources to tackling the problems which affect the lived experience of its personnel have had an effect, to the extent that we start to see improvements in the relevant scores in the annual armed forces continuous attitude survey. 8 Optimising the defence estate 1 Disposing of estate that is no longer needed
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
6.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: Summer 2022 6.2 The department is refreshing building design standards to ensure that it only constructs accommodation and offices that meet the expectations of Defence personnel both now and in the future. The department plans to invest circa £1.5 billion (excluding DEO) in improving Single Living Accommodation (SLA) over the next decade. 6.3 In addition, in the last five years, the Department has invested more than £650 million in improvements to Service Family Accommodation (SFA). Over 97% of UK SFA meets or exceeds the Decent Homes Standard with no properties allocated below that standard. 6.4 Over the past two years the department’s Defence Infrastructure Organisation and Industry Partner, Amey, have worked collaboratively to improve accommodation delivery, with a clear focus on improving key performance indicators in maintenance and move-in preparation. As a result, the experience of service families has steadily improved. The latest survey data of August 2021 has shown that 61% of Armed Forces Continuous Attitude Survey (AFCAS) respondents were satisfied with their homes, with 63% citing defence accommodation as providing value for money. 6.5 Both SFA and SLA will improve further under the new Future Defence Infrastructure Services contracts and the implementation of the new SLA minimum standards creating the opportunity to move away from a ‘fix on fail’ approach to preventative maintenance. The department expects the impact of its increased investment in the improvement and modernisation of SFA to be reflected in future improvements in customer satisfaction levels.