Shadow Armed Forces Minister and Plymouth MP Luke Pollard has launched a campaign to begin tackling the poor state of military accommodation across the country with his Homes fit for Heroes.
Luke launched Homes fit for Heroes, a campaign that encourages service personnel and their families to submit their experiences to help Labour shape its plans for the next election.
Poor military housing is a key issue in the South West, where MOD data uncovered by Labour revealed that one in two of personnel in Devon live in the lowest grade of service accommodation.
Since being elected, Luke has consistently campaigned on defence housing issues in Plymouth, including his call for Stonehouse barracks to be refurbished so that all accommodation blocks have hot water and good heating.
It was recently revealed that personnel at Stonehouse barracks are routinely left without hot water or heating, where an average of one boiler was breaking down every day at the base. Luke says the Conservatives are ‘failing forces and their families in Plymouth on a daily basis.’
Labour has commissioned an independent review of defence accommodation, chaired by crossbench peer and former Head of the Civil Service, Lord Bob Kerslake.
The commission will bring together experts from fields including health, housing and the armed forces. Labour’s Homes Fit for Heroes campaign is compiling evidence on the state of military accommodation which will be submitted as evidence to review.
Personnel and their families can submit their views at https://labour.org.uk/homesfitforheroes
Figures also obtained by Labour have revealed that out of a total of 47,894 service family accommodation properties there have been 24,536 reports of a lack of heating since April 2022.
Across the country, 4,360 personnel live in accommodation so poor that no rental charge is levied.
The latest MoD statistics reveal that 16,250 people left the armed forces in the year to October 2022, a 17.5% increase, while 30% fewer people joined up.
More than a quarter of tri-service personnel say the issues with accommodation provision increases their intention to leave service. Luke Pollard said:
“The Government is failing forces and their families in Plymouth on a daily basis.
“Across the south west service family accommodation is plagued by black mould, leaky roofs, broken boilers and long waits for repairs. Our forces and their families deserve better.
“For Labour, the defence of our nation begins at home. I want to hear directly from Forces and their families so that we can deliver the Homes Fit for Heroes they deserve.”
