Labour accuses Shapps of 'silencing personnel' with military barred from giving evidence on service housing

Labour has condemned the Defence Secretary's decision not to allow serving personnel to contribute to an inquiry into service accommodation.

Shadow minister for the Armed Forces Luke Pollard MP accused Grant Shapps of "silencing personnel" and "trying to sweep their problems under the rug".

The state of service accommodation has been a source of controversy for the Ministry of Defence (MOD), with photos and videos being shared on social media showing what appears to be some of the poor conditions in which some personnel have to live.   

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Mr Pollard said: "The Conservatives are failing our troops and their families with the shocking state of service housing.  

"With satisfaction with service life plummeting, it is outrageous that instead of fixing leaky and mouldy homes, the Defence Secretary is silencing personnel and trying to sweep their problems under the rug. 

"Labour in government will establish an independent Armed Forces Commissioner to improve service life for our Forces and ensure their best interests are looked out for." 

The inquiry into service accommodation is being conducted by the Defence Sub-Committee, chaired by Conservative MP Robert Courts who described the move as "fundamentally wrong".

In a published letter addressed to the Defence Secretary, Mr Courts said the decision to not allow personnel from giving evidence "does not make sense", adding: "It does not seem right or democratic that our inquiry should miss out on their lived experience."

He added: "We would also like to formally invite the responsible Minister and the Defence Infrastructure Organisation to give evidence to the Sub-Committee on Service accommodation."

Labour said barring Armed Forces personnel from contributing to the inquiry showed a "worrying lack of transparency from the MOD at a time of plummeting satisfaction with service life".

The latest figures from the MOD show satisfaction with life in the Armed Forces has fallen for the second year in a row.

The figures, released in June, show satisfaction with the overall standard of Service Family Accommodation fell from 52% in 2022 to 46%.

While levels of satisfaction with aspects of Single Living Accommodation have been unchanged since last year, they remain at their lowest reported levels.

Earlier this week, the MOD announced Service Family Accommodation will soon be allocated based on the size of families instead of rank as it unveiled a number of changes to military housing.

The MOD said the changes, which will come into effect from March 2024, will be the biggest to Armed Forces housing in a generation.

Forces News has asked the MOD for a comment in response to this story.