Tri-Service

"Appalling" Firm Looking After Homes Of Forces Families

"Appalling" Firm Looking After Homes Of Force Families

British forces families are living in housing so run down they’re making almost 800 requests for repairs every day, according to reports.

According to the Daily Mirror, the families are making 22,000 requests each month for issues including mouldy walls, leaking radiators and poor water pressure.

CarillionAmey, the firm who took over responsibility for service housing in December 2014, have had over 200,000 requests during their contract.

Conservative MP Stephen Phillips called CarillionAmey an "appalling contractor".

In a question to the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence, Mark Lancaster, he said: "Service housing is absolutely critical not only to the wellbeing of our servicemen and women and their families, but to their morale."

"CarillionAmey has been an appalling contractor, and I know that the department has taken this issue seriously. May I encourage my hon. Friend to continue to be robust, and to take the contract away from it unless and until it starts to discharge its obligations properly?"

Mr Lancaster, meanwhile, admitted the company’s "poor performance" in parliament. He said the department was committed to improving the "quality of service family accommodation provided to our service personnel and their families".

He added: "We have been working closely with CarillionAmey to deliver those improvements.

"Work to improve accommodation has resulted in the upgrading of some 3,000 homes through complete refurbishment and the separate installation of around 10,000 new kitchens, bathrooms, and central heating systems."

However, he admitted the firm’s "poor performance to date".

Forces TV is currently awaiting comment from the Ministry of Defence.

In February, Forces TV reported on an investigation into allegations Army families had been living for months without cookers, running water and holes in the ceilings of their homes.