TROOPS and their families were forced to live in “damp and mouldy” housing after contractors missed more than 21,000 repair appointments in just two years.
Government data shows that 21,226 scheduled visits were missed between April 2022, which is when new contracts with Amey and VIVO came into effect, and March 2024.
Getty ImagesThe Ministry of Defence acknowledged the “majority” of missed appointments were “a result of a previous IT issue, which has now been fully resolved”[/caption]
These include appointments for reactive repairs, planned maintenance but also damp and moult remediation.
Since then, ministers also coughed up nearly £1.6 million on temporary accommodation for military families “due to major repairs”.
Shadow Armed Forces Minister Luke Pollard slammed the Tories for “failing our forces and their families daily”.
He told The Sun: “Allowing tens of thousands of maintenance appointments at service accommodation to be missed and spending almost £1.6m in two years on temporary accommodation are the latest examples in a catalogue of failures.
“The last 14 Conservative years have corroded the nation’s contract with those who serve.
Personnel are living in damp and mouldy housing and morale has fallen by a third since 2010 to almost 40 per cent.”
The Ministry of Defence acknowledged the “majority” of missed appointments were “a result of a previous IT issue, which has now been fully resolved”.
A spokesman added: “We are committed to the welfare of Service Personnel and their families and more than 4 in 5 maintenance appointments were kept to their original slot.
“To improve military housing we are investing an additional £400 million between last summer and next spring, which includes damp and mould improvements to around 5,000 properties.”
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak admitted defence accommodation is not always “fit for standard”.
But speaking directly to British armed forces personnel on a military base in Poland, the PM said he and other Government leaders were “determined to put that right”.