Damp and mouldy housing could see personnel leave military
Damp and mouldy accommodation could see more personnel deciding to leave the military unless improvements are made, MPs are warning.
Two-thirds of homes for service families need "extensive refurbishment or rebuilding" to meet modern standards, the Commons defence committee has concluded.
The cross-party group says it is "not confident" the money will be made available to tackle the issue.
A Ministry of Defence (MoD) spokesperson told the BBC the report "lays bare the dire state of service accommodation this government inherited and is determined to fix."
Two years ago, the BBC reported on military families living in damp and mouldy conditions. At the time, the MoD said it was working with its contractors to improve the service.
But the report released on Wednesday said those problems "still exist".
"It is shocking that until a policy change in 2022, it was considered acceptable to house families in properties known to have damp and mould", it said.
In July 2023, the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) - which is responsible for maintaining and servicing military accommodation - was given £400m to tackle those issues over the next two years.
But, the report said, "outstanding problems" remain across the estate that the DIO "must resolve".
One person told the committee in written evidence that they had their damp "surveyed (multiple times)".
They were given a "standard package" to fix the problem which, they said, was "largely reported as being unfit for purpose".
"This one size fits all methodology wastes money and does not get to the root of the problem", they said.
The DIO told the committee it had seen "positive results" in packages of works delivered to address damp and mould in "over 80% of cases".
The committee said detailed statistics on the number of properties affected should be published by June next year, and be updated annually.
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