Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 22
22
Accepted
Volunteer estate in managed decline, requiring optimisation programme to dispose and modernise sites.
Recommendation
The Department said that the volunteer estate was a critical enabler for it to deliver the ambitions for increasing the numbers of reserves and cadets set out in the SDR. However, the Department told us that the estate had been in a state of managed decline, and that it had too many sites, some of which are not in the right places.32 The Department has started an estate optimisation programme to dispose of unneeded sites and modernise others to better serve the needs of cadets and reserves. It explained that it aimed to provide the right facilities in the right locations, balancing the need for sites near urban centres with maintaining sites in more remote areas too. By December 2024, the first phase of the programme had brought in £6.8 million from the disposal of 64 sites, and it had plans to sell 46 more, with forecast receipts of £7.7 million. The Department has reinvested these receipts in the remaining estate, and by December 2024 the programme had completed or started renovation at 85 sites costing £38.1 million.33
Government Response Summary
The MOD ensures due consideration is given to the volunteer estate in its balance of investment decisions and will write to the Committee alongside its Treasury Minute response, regarding progress on its discussions with HMRC relating to the RFCAs’ VAT status.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
5a. PAC recommendation: To establish and maintain an optimised volunteer estate the Department should: • ensure due consideration is given to the volunteer estate in its balance of investment decisions as it develops its defence investment plan which it is committed to completing in autumn 2025. 5.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: March 2026 5.2 The MOD ensures due consideration is given to the volunteer estate in its balance of investment decisions through a structured, evidence-based approach. It assesses the volunteer estate alongside the wider defence estate using criteria including operational relevance, value for money, safety and long-term sustainability. Condition surveys, usage data and risk assessments help identify where investment in the volunteer estate is most needed and will deliver greatest benefit, such as Cadet buildings and Reserve centres. 5.3 Funding decisions are prioritised according to impact, ensuring essential maintenance, statutory compliance, and improvements to training environments are considered fairly. 5.4 By taking the volunteer estate into account in its overall approach to investment decisions, the MOD aims to balance limited resources while maintaining safe, functional and fit-for-purpose facilities for volunteers, Reservists and Cadets. 5b.PAC recommendation: [To establish and maintain an optimised volunteer estate the Department should] • Write to the Committee alongside its Treasury Minute response, regarding progress on its discussions with HMRC relating to the RFCAs’ VAT status. 5.5 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: March 2026 5.6 The department submitted a formal submission to HMRC on 1 December 2025 to consider the case and provide further opinion and guidance on what evidence or actions are necessary to be able to recover VAT incurred by MOD on maintaining the volunteer estate. 5.7 The department will provide updates on progress as requested by the Committee.