Soldiers’ housing complaints on the increase

Complaints over poor quality housing for soldiers in Scotland increased by 43% in one year, according to new statistics.

Figures released under Freedom of Information (FoI) found that there were 621 complaints over accommodation last year, up from 433 in 2015.

The rise in complaints followed the introduction of a new charging system introduced by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) in 2016, which saw 81% of service families paying more rent.

Concerns were highlighted about the duration of works, communication and missed appointments, among others.

There was also widespread criticism over the performance of CarillionAmey, who were contracted to provide repairs and maintenance for Service Family Accommodation in 2014, with fewer than half of regular personnel satisfied with the overall standard of their accommodation.

The statistics follow a report by the Public Accounts Committee which concluded that Armed Forces families were “badly let down” for years after being provided with homes so bad they often don’t have heating and hot water.

Edinburgh MSP Gordon MacDonald, who has three army bases in his constituency, said the “shocking” figures show just how badly the MoD have handled changes to soldiers’ accommodation.

He added: “Service personnel do an extraordinarily difficult job and deserve better than botched repairs and poor workmanship in their homes.

“The MoD need to consider these failures very carefully and make sure that these mistakes are not repeated.”

The MoD said it spent £660 million on housing in the last six years and claimed it was “actively encouraging” people to raise concerns about their accommodation to ensure they were addressed.

A spokesperson said: “We continue to improve the quality of our accommodation for the Armed Forces and their families, including invested £660m in improving housing over the last six years, and last year we refurbished 4,700 homes and spent £450m on keeping rent costs down.

“Figures to date for 2017 show a significantly lower number of complaints.”

A spokeswoman for CarillionAmey added: “Although we recognise there was a 43% increase in housing complaints between 2015 and 2016, we have seen a 42% reduction so far in 2017.

“Following improvements made in 2016 we are now meeting, and in places exceeding, the overall requirements of our contracts and have seen customer satisfaction increase. Our efforts were commended at the Public Accounts Committee in January 2017.

“We are always looking for ways to improve and recently met with soldiers and their families in Edinburgh to discuss what more we can do to support them.”

An earlier version of this story reported that complaints about soldiers’ housing had increased five-fold in one year. It was based on information provided by the Ministry of Defence under Freedom of Information laws. The MoD has since clarified the information it provided.