Labour shelves £800m on repairs to ‘dilapidated’ military housing

Labour has shelved plans to spend £800m on urgently needed refurbishments to military housing as it struggles to balance the budget, The Times can disclose. Thousands of families are now likely to be stuck in dilapidated homes with issues such as mould, damp, broken boilers and leaky roofs until at least the end of the decade. Most commented 1 Kemi Badenoch puts cutting ‘immoral’ inheritance tax at core of speech Politics 622 comments 2 Saudis begin battle to force Houthis from Bab al-Mandeb Strait Middle East 24 comments 3 TalkTalk deal a ‘stitch-up’ of broadband market, says Virgin Media Companies & Markets 113 comments Armed forces advocates have condemned the conditions as a “national disgrace”, adding that “prisoners would not be housed as badly” as service personnel and their loved ones. Politics newsletter Get our daily insider’s guide to Westminster, plus a rundown of PMQs every Wednesday. Sign up with one click You’ve successfully signed up to the Politics newsletter Explore our newsletters An error occurred. Please use the link below. Politics newsletter Explore our newsletters The government’s long-awaited defence investment plan (Dip), published in June, reconfirmed the promise Labour made last year to spend £9.2bn fixing about 40,000 military homes that had fallen into disrepair. Top stories 1 Andrew takes Thames Valley police to court over Jeffrey Epstein investigation Royal family An official review found that about 14,000 properties were in such poor condition that they needed knocking down or comprehensive floor-to-ceiling renovation. Advertisement Yet buried within the small print of the Dip was the admission that the incoming prime minister, Andy Burnham, would have to find £5bn in extra defence funding in his first budget, which will be unveiled at the end this month. ‘Army housing mould put my baby in hospital. No 10 can’t forget us’ Ministers later conceded that the government would need to defer a “small amount of the money in the defence housing budget” until at least 2029 to prioritise “military readiness for our forces now”, although no figure was given. Top stories 1 Six thrilling Costa Rica trips with Times Holidays Promoted content The Times can reveal the sum amounts to £800m. Jeremy Pocklington, the permanent under-secretary of state for defence, informed the public accounts committee of the decision in August. Jeremy Pocklington In a letter to its chair, he said: “Global uncertainties have meant that we have had to balance the investment in housing over the next four years with other urgent defence priorities; consequently, approximately £0.8bn of investment originally planned for this parliament will be deferred into the second period of the Dip.” Advertisement Antony Cotton, an armed forces advocate who previously helped the government promote its housing refurbishment project, warned that thousands of families would suffer from the delays. Cotton said: “A soldier, an aviator, a sailor or a marine should only be having to think about how they’re serving. They should not be thinking about whether their child’s bedroom has mould crawling up the walls. Antony Cotton Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images “That is a national disgrace, and I am ashamed of it. More people should be up in arms about it. Some of those houses were built 80 years ago, to last no more than 20 years. I’ve been in houses that have no insulation. They are literally a brick wall with plaster board on the inside of it. Prisoners would not be housed as badly.” Cotton added: “If the government needs £5bn to spend on drone kit, spend it, because as far as warfare tech is concerned it’s evolving weekly. I’m not going to say we shouldn’t be spending money on that and we should be spending on houses, that’s a fool’s game. MoD wastes £25m on lost gear, cancelled contracts and tax penalties Advertisement “But, in order to invest in our armed forces, we should also be investing in their families and the building that they live in.” Cotton had repeatedly worked with John Healey who, while serving as Sir Keir Starmer’s defence secretary, made the £9.2bn pledge to fix military housing one of his central policies. Healey, who is now chancellor, won praise for his commitment to improving the lives of service personnel after unveiling the defence housing strategy last year. This included a new defence housing service, which will manage military homes while keeping them in public ownership. Cotton said: “Two years ago, I was able to say to families: ‘Listen, you’re on the list, it’s on the horizon; your house will get sorted’. And now it’s like there are thousands of houses that aren’t going to be on the list. It’s very frustrating. “At the end of the day, behind every one of those front doors is a family and the reality is they are families with kids, young kids.” Advertisement In his letter, Pocklington added that despite the deferral decision, funding for housing improvements over the next four years “represents a step change from the historic position”. He said that over the last two years, Labour has delivered refurbishments to more than 2,000 properties across the UK, including at Helensburgh, Holywood and Haverfordwest in the devolved administrations. He added that between the middle of 2024 and the beginning of this year, more than 9,600 home improvements were completed, including 2,300 new doors and windows, 2,700 new heating systems, 900 new bathrooms, 600 homes re-wired and 900 new kitchens, with 460 more homes undergoing work this year. James Cartlidge, the shadow defence secretary, said: “After months of Labour ministers assuring us that no money would be taken from the budget for armed forces accommodation, we now get the truth — £800m is actually being cut. ”This not only exposes the emptiness of Labour’s promises to those who serve, but calls into question ministers explicit assurances to the contrary — such as Luke Pollard’s claim that this is a ‘small amount of money’. Advertisement “In reality, this is a huge chunk of the cash meant for forces’ housing, diverted from supporting military families just when we should be giving them our all.” A Ministry of Defence spokeswoman said: “This government is investing record amounts in forces housing, after decades of neglect, through £9.2bn of investment. “This will see 90 per cent of military homes upgraded, renewed or rebuilt and 1,250 of the worst homes have already been upgraded. Overall satisfaction with military homes has increased by 12 per cent in the past year alone, now reaching 75 per cent.”