PRESS RELEASE FROM ALISTAIR STRATHERN MP
TUESDAY 17th DECEMEBER 2024
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Alistair Strathern, MP for the Hitchin Constituency, has welcomed a major deal to bring the Armed Forces housing estate back into public ownership following his campaign for action.
A longstanding campaigner on the poor state of armed forces accommodation since being elected to Parliament, Strathern has previous spoken out in Parliament on several occasions on the shocking condition of local privately owned accommodation. The nationwide plan includes taking the 499 armed forces homes in the Hitchin constituency back into public ownership, after years of inadequate conditions.
Strathern’s constituency contains two armed forces camps – Chicksands and Henlow – both of which have been found to have widespread damp, mould and leaks after more than a decade of underinvestment in maintenance and repairs.
Strathern has been campaigning on this issue since he became an MP. His work has included meeting many military families, and leading a Westminster debate on armed forces accommodation. You can see a transcript of that debate, here.
The government plan will save billions over the next decade, delivering savings for taxpayers and enabling additional investment into homes for military families.
The landmark move reverses a sale undertaken by the then Government in 1996 to a private company called Annington. It’s estimated this sale has cost this Government close to £9 billion since.
Taking back control of the military housing estate will save the taxpayer £230 million a year in rent across the country. That’s £600,000 per day.
This deal will unlock a major programme of rebuilding and refurbishing military housing, and will help achieve the Prime Minister’s milestones on kickstarting economic growth and boosting housebuilding across the country.
Alistair Strathern MP said:
“It shames our nation that in the lead up to Christmas, too many military families are living in sub-standard military housing.
“For the families of those who put themselves in harm’s way to keep our country safe, that is unacceptable. But change is coming.
“Our armed forces personnel deserve homes fit for the heroes they are. This move to take all military accommodation back into public ownership is a key step to delivering that for all military staff, in Hitchin and across the country.”
Rt Hon John Healey MP, Secretary of State for Defence said:
“This deal shows our government is determined to deliver homes fit for our heroes. These important savings to the defence budget will help fix the deep-set problems we inherited.
“There is still a lot of work to do to deliver the homes our military families deserve, and these problems will not be fixed overnight. But this is a decisive break with the failed approach of the past and a major step forward on that journey.”
Notes to Editors:
You can find more information on the deal, here
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