KEETCH: ARMED FORCES FAMILIES LIVING IN SUBSTANDARD HOMES

9.00.00am GMT Mon 14th Mar 2005

Britain's Army and RAF personnel are living in substandard accommodation - at home and abroad, according to two separate surveys. The National Audit Office have reported that service families are living in homes in Germany, Cyprus and Gibraltar that are in dire need of maintenance - and 45 per cent of them are unhappy with their living conditions.

A second report by Liberal Democrat defence spokesman Paul Keetch MP reveals high levels of dissatisfaction with the quality of domestic

accommodation.

He says that official MOD sample surveys indicate that:

• Nearly half of Army and RAF personnel in Service Families

Accommodation are not satisfied with their housing - equating to over

30,000 servicemen and women, not including family members.

• Over 70% of Army and 50% of RAF personnel in Single Living

Accommodation are not satisfied with the standard of housing.

• Over 70% of Army are not satisfied with efforts to improve service

accommodation.

• 23% of officers and 20% of soldiers say accommodation is increasing or

strongly increasing their intention to leave the Army.

Mr Keetch said, " Today's NAO report omits the worrying standard of

service accommodation in the UK, with which there is real

dissatisfaction throughout the ranks.

" Nearly half of personnel are not satisfied with the quality of their

accommodation and one in five in the Army says it increases their

intention to leave the service.

" Shoddy housing could undermine military performance and jeopardise

retention rates. We should provide our brave servicemen and women, and their families, with the quality accommodation they deserve."