One in four troops living in service family accommodation is dissatisfied with their home, a bleak survey reveals as the UK marks Armed Forces Week.
Soldiers, sailors, airmen and their families have lodged tens of thousands of pleas for help over vermin infestations, dodgy electrics and heating faults, according to official figures.
And the latest quarterly update from the Defence Infrastructure Organisation study lays bare levels of unhappiness with their accommodation.
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“Less than three fifths (57%) of customers are satisfied with the overall quality of their home, whilst over a quarter (27%) are dissatisfied,” the report admits.
Ministry of Defence figures show that complaints about accommodation doubled in April compared with a year earlier.
In April 2021, there were 477 complaints about service family accommodation.
But in the same month this year, they had rocketed to 867.
There were 7,596 complaints over the period - averaging 584 a month.
A written parliamentary answer from Defence Minister Jeremy Quin revealed there had been 57,492 callouts to deal with roofing, heating, electrical and pest-control problems in service family accommodation in the five months to March.
Shadow Armed Forces Minister Luke Pollard, who uncovered the figures, told the Mirror: “Ministers are failing our frontline forces during a cost of living crisis.
“Personnel and their families should not live in housing where vermin infestations, leaks and broken heating happen regularly.
“It is no wonder service satisfaction with accommodation has plummeted.
“British troops deserve a decent home for their families and ministers urgently need to improve forces accommodation.”
An MoD spokesman said safety was its “highest priority” and properties “remain legally compliant for occupation”.
He added: “We have nearly 50,000 properties in the UK for Armed Forces’ families.
“All allocated homes meet the Government Decent Homes Standard as a minimum and in the last year we have invested over £120million to improve accommodation.”
