MOD punishes firms as 795 military homes have no valid gas safety certificate
Payments have been withheld from contractors responsible for maintaining military homes after it was found that 795 occupied service family homes had no gas safety certification.
Of the 47,800 military homes throughout the UK, it falls to two private contractors to maintain them.
In a written statement to the House, Defence Procurement Minister James Cartlidge confirmed that the companies were being penalised over the safety certificate breach.
Mr Cartlidge said: "Since Amey and VIVO have not met the acceptable level of performance in this case, the relevant performance credit for fixed and variable profit for the service period has been withheld."
He further acknowledged that "progress to update gas certificates and electrical inspections for a number of existing residents which had already elapsed was not quick enough," and as of 20 June, "there are 795 homes currently occupied by service families without valid gas certificates".
Depending on where in the UK the service accommodation is, VIVO or Amey are the two contractors who make the necessary repairs to military homes.
Former Army reservist Mark Francois MP has previously been vocal about the "poor state of housing" and conditions some forces families are living in.
In response to the written statement, the Conservative MP said: "Enough is enough. MOD (Ministry of Defence) ministers and senior civil servants were warned repeatedly that the new FDIS (Future Defence Infrastructure Services) Accommodation contract would not work.
"Now it appears the contractors may even have breached crucial safety regulations, regardless of the risk to service personnel and their loved ones."
He further accused the MOD leadership of being "in complete denial that they were wrong about FDIS from the outset and still have no clear plan about to what do instead".
Previous housing complaints have included an infant living in a bedroom with black mould and an RAF family saying their pet dog had to be put down after it sustained injuries from a 'dangerous tree' that fell at their military home.
Earlier this year, the MOD said contractors responsible for repairing service families' homes were having their payments withheld while their "performance remains sub-par".
Mr Cartlidge confirmed that, by law, "all occupied rented homes are required to undertake Landlord Gas Safety Inspections (LGSI) every 12 months".
"As part of the standard protocol, all personnel who move into defence accommodation should have an LGSI, alongside an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR), completed within 28 days."
A VIVO spokesperson said: "VIVO are committed to ensuring service family homes are safe and compliant. VIVO are responsible for a number of these certificates in the South of England.
"We have made families aware by writing to them and have provided appointments. We have been working closely with DIO (Defence Infrastructure Organisation) and chain of command locally, which has led to significant progress.
"In the vast majority cases now, the certificates that are out of date are due to VIVO not being able to gain access to the home, but we have plenty of trained resources available once we have made contact with the families to agree an appointment time that works for them."
The statement ended: "With regards to our performance, we can confirm that we have made considerable improvements and continue to do so to serve the families."
Forces News has approached Amey for comment.
An MOD spokesperson said: "The safety of service personnel and their families is a top priority and we are working with our suppliers as a matter of urgency to ensure all families live in homes which are compliant.
"This has included bringing in new measures to enable access to homes to complete safety inspections and increasing supply chain resource."
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