By Michael Evans, Defence Editor
The accommodation provided for some of the Armed Forces is a disgrace, Des Browne, the Defence Secretary, admitted yesterday.
However, in a speech to the conference he blamed the poor housing standards on the “legacy” that the Government had been bequeathed when it came to power ten years ago.
Mr Browne was taken to task two weeks ago by the Commons Defence Committee for failing to house the Armed Forces in decent accommodation. General Sir Richard Dannatt, the head of the Army, has also recently spoken out about inadequate housing.
To meet the growing criticisms, Mr Browne announced an additional £80 million to provide more bachelor flatlets to replace ageing barracks dormitories. However, the Ministry of Defence said that the money would have to be found from the department’s budget. The cash will be raised from “reinvesting” revenue generated from the sale of disused barracks and air bases.
Mr Browne also announced a £140 council tax rebate for all members of the Armed Forces serving six-month tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. The scheme will start next month for the 13,000 troops eligible for the rebate, and they will pick up their first back-payment in April.
The cash will represent about 25 per cent of the council tax payments that would have been due while they are serving overseas. The tax-free payment will be extended to all personnel serving overseas from next year.
However, the £2.5 million that it will cost each year, in addition to the £2,320 operational allowance already granted to everyone serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, will also have to be found from the existing budget.
Liam Fox, the Shadow Defence Secretary, said: “The nature of this measure will be divisive among the Armed Forces because it discriminates between personnel on different operations.” He added: “It will put further pressure on the frontline budget because no new money is being made available by the MoD.”
Dr Fox compared the “partial” tax rebate with the full rebate given to prisoners while in jail. “The fact that prisoners pay no council tax while our boys on the frontline do, shows how low a priority the Armed Forces are under Gordon Brown,” he said.
The £140 rebate will be available only to troops who pay council tax for a property in Britain. Those living in single accommodation do not pay any charges, including council tax.
Mr Browne also pledged that servicemen and women would be given the same access to social housing as everyone else, even if they had no long-term link to an area.
— At a fringe meeting on Monday, Mr Browne said that the Taleban would be involved in any peace deal in Afghanistan, and dismissed the idea of the country establishing a Western-style legal system. An Islamic-based solution was the way forward, he said.
