GOVERNMENT'S ATTITUDE TO MILITARY HOUSING IS DESPICABLE

11.28.00pm GMT Fri 30th Nov 2007

A Public Accounts Committee report published yesterday, 29 November 2007, which says that some military personnel and their families will be living in substandard housing for the next 20 years, reveals a 'despicable' attitude to the military covenant, the Liberal Democrats have said.

Among the criticisms in the report is the claim that 'in 2006-07 £13.5 million of planned maintenance work was deferred in response to budget cuts, whilst the resurfacing of tennis courts and the construction of sports pitches went ahead.'

Commenting, Paul Keetch, MP for Hereford said:

"This report raises serious questions of competency in the management of the MoD estate. The Government's record on forces' housing is appalling.

"Our servicemen and women put their lives on the line and Gordon Brown merely rewards their bravery with incompetence."

"The Government demands so much of our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, it is inexcusable that the Government sees fit to delay basic maintenance on their homes. Is that not the bare minimum our forces deserve under the military covenant?

"Has there ever been a Government so quick to send its troops into battle but so slow to reward them for their sacrifices?