MOD defends new policy changes to military housing as petition is launched calling for review

The Ministry of Defence has defended its decision to change its rules on the provision of military housing, after a petition was launched calling for a review.

Imogen Howells, the organiser of the petition, wants the MOD to "undertake further engagement with affected personnel" before the new policy gets underway.

However, the MOD says it will be allocating service families accommodation "on need, not just rank," and widening the scope of who qualifies for subsidised housing.

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The new policy, which is due for implementation next month, will see sweeping changes to the subsidised housing that is offered to personnel in the Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force.

Under current rules, senior officers receive housing based on their rank but the new rules will focus on the number of rooms required for any dependants.

This means junior ranks could be entitled to larger MOD housing stock, previously reserved for more senior ranks.

The online petition has attracted more than 8,600 signatures but is currently short of the 10,000 signatures required for the Government to provide a response.

And if the number manages to reach 100,000 the petition will be considered for debate in Parliament.

The petition claims that "at present, the New Accommodation Offer has been poorly received by a number of service personnel who will be affected".

It goes on to say that if the policy is implemented as it currently stands "retention rates are likely to fall to even lower levels than those at present".

The petition adds: "This could have an irreversible effect on the capability of the Armed Forces over both the immediate and intermediate term."

The new accommodation model will also see personnel in long-term relationships be entitled to subsidised military accommodation, on the same basis as those who are married or in a civil partnership.

Alongside the now permanent Forces Help To Buy (FHTB) scheme, first-time buyers will be able to receive a refund of up to £1,500 of their legal expenses.

An MOD Spokesperson said: "Our Armed Forces personnel make extraordinary sacrifices to protect our nation, which is why our New Accommodation Offer (NAO) is built around families to modernise accommodation entitlements, making provision fairer through allocating accommodation on need, not just rank and recognising long-term relationships.

"Based on feedback from families, the NAO will also improve the standard of Single Living Accommodation, help military personnel get on the housing ladder and give our people more choice in how they live."

Elsewhere, a pilot scheme was launched to give service personnel in established long-term relationships access to Service Family Accommodation (SFA) in the Falkland Islands and Sovereign Base Areas Cyprus – where over a third of personnel assigned overseas are based.