Shaun Davies, the Member of Parliament for Telford, has praised the Government’s £9bn investment to fix Armed Forces housing across the country, including 95 homes in Telford.
The Defence Housing Strategy outlines the Government’s plan to upgrade and modernise 90% of military homes, and to create a new Defence Housing Service to better support military families. 40,000 military homes nationwide will benefit from the Strategy, including 2500 in the West Midlands, 188 in Telford & Wrekin and 95 in Telford.
This move was made possible by the Government’s previous decision to bring 36,000 forces family homes back into public ownership earlier this year, a move which saved more than £200m in rent payments for the taxpayer. The Government is now reinvesting that money into upgrades to Armed Forces housing. The Government has also committed to raise defence spending to 2.6% of GDP by 2027, and has already introduced the highest pay rise for Armed Forces personnel in more than 20 years.
The Ministry of Defence also announced in September plans to accelerate housebuilding for veterans and serving personnel on surplus MoD land.
Welcoming the announcement, Shaun Davies said: “We owe so much to those who serve our country, and we need to do more to support them. I have spoken to many serving personnel here in Telford who’ve told me their housing has been outdated and poor for far too long. It’s wrong that those who serve our country are living in such conditions. That’s why I’m so pleased this Labour Government is modernising military housing. By bringing Armed Forces homes back into public ownership, building more houses, giving service members priority, and upgrading existing homes, we finally have a government that truly values our Armed Forces and veterans.”
Labour’s Defence Secretary, John Healey MP, said “Our British forces personnel and our veterans fulfil the ultimate public service. Our nation is rightly proud of them. And the very least they deserve is a decent home. “This new Strategy will embed a ‘Forces First’ approach that tells our forces, our veterans and their families: we are on your side. We can’t fix forces housing overnight, but this effort is already underway and will now accelerate. By creating a specialist Defence Housing Service, backed by record investment in military accommodation, we will deliver better value for the taxpayer and fulfil our promise to provide homes fit for heroes.”
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