SAC0070
Written evidence submitted by the Ministry of Defence
HCDC WRITTEN EVIDENCE PART 1: SINGLE LIVING ACCOMMODATION
Background
1. On 13 July 2023, the Defence Sub-Committee of the House of Commons Defence Committee launched an inquiry into Service Accommodation, referring to both Single Living Accommodation (SLA) and Service Family Accommodation (SFA). This document sets out the evidence and background against each of the Committee’s questions which relate to SLA.
A document relating to SFA has been provided separately.
Executive Summary
2. By way of summary the submission provides more detail regarding the following principal themes:
Introduction
3. In October 2022 the Secretary of State presented the Defence Accommodation Strategy (DAS) to Parliament, with the vision ‘to provide a high-quality, flexible accommodation offer to our Service personnel to support operational effectiveness.’ Amongst the core principles of this is ‘improving the quality of Defence-provided accommodation’ From the SLA perspective this will be achieved through three principal lines of effort: providing Service personnel with access to good quality accommodation that is aligned with modern living standards; maximising the use of accommodation to ensure affordability and value for money; and improving the sustainability of accommodation, while promoting sustainable behaviours in managing, maintaining and living in it as part of Defence’s commitment to leading the charge in meeting the Government’s ambitions for greater sustainability. As a minimum, single accommodation must offer appropriately quiet, secure, dry, ventilated and heated spaces, with access to hot water. At its best, in Defence’s new-build properties the department has committed to providing SLA with single ensuite rooms with access to high-quality broadband, made to net zero build standards with construction being as sustainable as possible and consideration given to achieving net zero across the life cycle of the building. Despite significant investment, legacy issues with condition remain. At its worst this results in multi-occupancy rooms, shared ablutions, inadequate thermal comfort and ventilation and compromised security. The result is that a third of those in SLA are currently living in sub-standard accommodation. However, all the FLCs recognise the priority of improving single accommodation and are committed to increasing investment.
4. SLA definitions. SLA is broken into three principal categories:
Provision is diverse, from multi-occupancy rooms with shared ablutions (usually during basic training), to high specification ensuite rooms with storage, social areas and shared kitchens.
5. Scope and scale. The MOD provides a total of c.171,000 permanent, temporary, and training bedspaces worldwide. There is c.133,000 permanent and temporary bedspaces in the UK and c.17,000 bedspaces overseas[1] and ~21,000 bedspaces across the UK training estate. c.81,000[2] Service personnel occupy permanent SLA across all Services meaning that 55.7%[3] of Armed Forces Personnel are accommodated in single accommodation. The variation between bedspaces and occupancy reflects the differential between permanent, temporary, and training.[4]
6. Grading of SLA. There are four grades[5] of permanent SLA based on the assessment criteria of location, age, state of repair, size and facilities. The charging structure is based upon the type of room and a Service person’s eligibility for that room based upon their rank. Charges range from £0.97 - £8.32 per day (utilities included) depending upon the accommodation type and grade. This does mean that personnel of different ranks pay different amounts for the same size room (for example SNCOs/WOs and junior officers)
7. Governance and management of SLA. SLA governance is managed through Head Office, who provide the people and infrastructure strategy[6] and policy (Direct) through CDP and DCDS (MilCap) respectively; CDP is the senior sponsor. There are multiple delivery and maintenance models (Enable). The Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) is responsible for the maintenance of ~93% of UK and overseas SLA through the Future Defence Infrastructure Services (FDIS) contracts, Overseas Prime Contracts (OPC) and Private Finance Initiatives (PFI), for example, Devonport under the Armada PFI. SLA in two of the Naval dockyards (Portsmouth and Clyde) is delivered through the Future Maritime Support Programme (FMSP), which will shortly be replaced by Navy Support Integrated Global Network (NSIGN). Several Army overseas locations are delivered through an in-house model, for example Brunei and Nepal.[7] Finally, generation and operation of the estate is managed by the relevant FLC,[8] who bid for funding to deliver their plans and manage their single accommodation programmes according to their needs and priorities.
8. Programmatic approach. All the FLCs have prioritised bringing single accommodation up to a good standard. In many cases this requires a new build, however, there will be some major refurbishments needed, especially in constrained or heritage sites. While all FLCs have started SLA construction projects, DIO are in the process of instigating a pan-Defence 'SLA programmatic approach' which now has an agreed design and will use Cabinet Office commercial frameworks to drive efficiency, value for money and speed.
9. Condition. It is acknowledged that condition of the SLA is not universally of a sufficiently good standard to meet the demands of Service personnel. This can have a disproportionate impact on Defence’s ability to retain, but also recruit, which has been recognised by each of the FLCs. Consequently, Defence is spending £5.3 billion over 10 years to improve SLA, including the provision of over 14,000 new and refurbished single rooms as part of the DEOP, while also prioritising single accommodation in top-level budget (TLB) minor works programmes.
Question 1 – What measures have been put in place to resolve (i) the housing [accommodation] maintenance issues, hold service providers to account?
10. Performance of contracts. All SLA infrastructure services contracts (FDIS, FMSP and PFI) are today recognised to be performing to the required KPI standards. By way of example, FDIS has incentivised performance measures which are subject to quarterly review. Profit payments are withheld from the Contractors if they do not meet the ‘acceptable levels’ defined in the contract; the approach is similar in the other infrastructure services contracts. Any performance that falls below the acceptable level of performance is subject to a rectification plan.
11. Impact of condition. Failures in SLA are often related to condition. Many units have ageing accommodation blocks that are likely to experience failures, regardless of maintenance. The Armed Forces Continuous Attitude Survey (AFCAS) results in 2023 bear this out: while maintenance KPIs are met, satisfaction levels regarding quality of repairs remain low at 29%. Heating and hot water failures are one example, and are regularly highlighted by external assurance, such as OFSTED, who inspect our training establishments. However, this issue is prevalent across the single accommodation estate. To target this, FLCs through their DIO managed Hard Facilities Management contracts, have introduced enhanced planned maintenance for heating and hot water systems with “plug-in” functionality for temporary boilers and generators to improve resilience, reliability and availability across a significant number of SLA. Furthermore, fault, defect and maintenance management information for heating, hot water, damp and mould is being enhanced, enabling pro-active interventions that will reduce the probability of failure, improve the reliability of installations and support an improved lived experience. Future development by DIO of data capture and analytical tools will help the earlier identification and prioritisation of investment opportunities across the FLCs SLA estate. This will enable mitigation of the worst accommodation until it can be replaced. The four-tier grading system allows the identification of the bedspaces most at risk and allows for correlating charges. Satisfaction with charging is at 57%, indicating that personnel recognise that they pay less for worse condition accommodation, but they are still far from content.
12. Holding to account. All of the delivery models have a similar holding to account process, whereby the HoE has monthly Site Infrastructure Management Meetings (SIMMs) with the contractor and delivery agents, to review performance. Data quality is improving, especially in terms of issues and risk reporting; the holding to account process is considered fit for purpose.
13. FLC plans. The FLCs all plan on eliminating their worst accommodation and replacing it with high quality accommodation that meets the standards set out in the DAS Until all below standard accommodation is removed, low occupier satisfaction scoring is likely to continue. However, FLCs have arrested the downward trend since 2018, and their plans for SLA are prioritised and ambitious.
Question 2 – What is the MOD doing and what more could they do to rebuild trust in Service accommodation?
14. Satisfaction levels. In the latest 2023 AFCAS results, satisfaction with the overall standard (42%), responses to maintenance/repairs (27%) and quality of maintenance/repairs (29%) of SLA remained at its lowest levels but have been steady at this level for some years. Satisfaction with value for money remains at 57%. The MOD published the results of the inaugural SLA survey in September 2022 and are currently planning for the second survey to be launched in Spring 2024. The purpose of these surveys is to assess the Single accommodation lived experience, expectations for accommodation in the future and, to highlight any trends on SLA usage. This data provides evidentiary support for improvements and changes to SLA policy. The next policy area to be addressed using data from the SLA survey is a review of need and entitlement, and next year it will contribute to the next level of the Defence Minimum Standards (DMS).
15. DMS. The minimum standards for Single accommodation have been published in the DAS. The assessment of each bedspace uses SLAMIS data,[9] and a physical survey completed by single Service representatives. The assessment of the estate against the DMS is complete and data being collated. Analysing this data is the priority, enabling the FLCs to highlight the ‘quick wins’ to ensure that bedspaces meet the standard. When DMS goes live on 1 April 2024, it will mean that some bedspaces will no longer meet the minimum standard. For some FLCs, this will have an impact on their accommodation capacity, and FLCs are working through those impacts and mitigations.
16. Leadership. Senior engagement and backing have been powerful in indicating to personnel clear intent and tangible commitment to improve SLA. This was most publicly evidenced in the decision of the Second Sea Lord (2SL) to close Vivian Block at HMS Collingwood, Fareham, in February 2023. Well-beyond its intended life, repeated defects had rendered the block unfit for occupation and beyond recovery. Demolition is due to start this year, with a temporary, “podded” accommodation village providing sufficient rooms pending a new build replacement. 2SL afterwards issued a directive that HoEs were empowered to remove from use any accommodation at the Vivian standard or below. The approach by senior leadership is making a tangible difference in terms of estate condition. Work is ongoing to develop a centralised reporting mechanism that will allow the CDP, as SLA Sponsor, to monitor progress.
17. What more could be done. To avoid duplication, further initiatives are captured under Question 3 – best practice; and, Question 4 – financial investment.
Question 3 – Are there examples of good practice in provision of Service accommodation, which could be replicated across Defence?
18. There are significant numbers of best practice initiatives, which are then shared across the delivery agents and FLCs. The examples described below are all contributing to improving SLA provision.
19. Army SLA improvement programme. The Army is exploiting modular construction techniques, where the accommodation units are built off-site and include energy-efficient designs. These modules can be purchased at speed, and this enables responsiveness and flexibility that represents a step-change from traditional construction methods. For example, a recent SLA build at Imjin Barracks in Gloucestershire based design features on feedback from resident Service personnel such as soundproofing, full-height windows and individual thermostats with Smart monitors. Similar accommodation units were built for course students at the Defence School of Transport, not only saving ~£1 million annually on hotel accommodation, but significantly reducing the carbon footprint of the school. The use of modern practices and the latest materials also allows energy efficiency features such as the incorporation of solar panels to drive down utilities costs and meet the MOD’s carbon reduction goals.
20. Training estate accommodation. The Defence training estate is largely based on legacy 1940s infrastructure. The training estate is managed on behalf of Defence by the Army, who have replaced 4,000 bedspaces (~20% of the estate) to date, with 70 carbon efficient single and double-storey accommodation blocks. The new training accommodation at Westdown Camp in Wiltshire was prototyped, refined and modified during construction to deliver buildings that were not only better quality and more modern, but also generate power for the site, cutting expensive utility bills, and achieving the MOD’s Defence Related Environmental Assessment Methodology (DREAM) 'Excellent’ rating. These buildings also include smart building technology that provides data on energy usage to enable further design improvements. The use of modern construction techniques has reduced construction times from 15 to 13 weeks, and the use of standard, modular and repeatable designs exploits the MOD’s permitted development rights, minimises bureaucratic drag and can be mobilised at short notice to exploit departmental underspend.
21. Defence Estate Optimisation Portfolio. At £5.1 billion, Defence Estate Optimisation (DEO) is the largest infrastructure investment portfolio of its kind in Defence. DEO does several things for Defence, but specifically creates a better lived and working experience for Defence personnel, drives down Defence infrastructure emissions and delivers long term cost savings for the Defence budget. Over the next 10 years DEO is currently forecast to provide over 14,000 new and refurbished single rooms with an allocated SLA budget of £791 million. DEO has appointed industry design and build partners following a competitive tender and procurement exercise. The framework alliance contract will ensure accelerated delivery and value for money in refining repeatable and sustainable designs for Service accommodation that can be used across the estate. Repeatable design, with standardised components at scale, will reduce capital and running costs, while providing modern and comfortable accommodation.
22. Project HYDRO. Developed and implemented in April 2020 to improve building resilience, it took proactive measures to prevent heating and hot water failures across the Air estate. The programme includes installation of temporary boilers within 24 hours of failure and preventative maintenance to boilers and district heating systems during the summer. The result has been fewer instances of boilers failing, and for shorter periods when they do, improving the quality of life for RAF personnel. A Phase 2 is looking to address the root causes of boiler failure through a district heating replacement programme, which will also support decarbonisation ambitions. HYDRO is a good example of where the FLCs have made balance of investment decisions to provide additional resilience and has been extended across other FLCs, where resources have allowed.
23. SLAMIS. The SLAMIS capability is the means by which DIO will provide Defence with a single source of accurate data on SLA Type, Location, Condition for charging, Occupancy and Utilisation, through development of a global bedspace index; a booking tool, and a 4-tier grading tool,[10] for use at site level; and Defence-wide reporting capabilities. Once the SLAMIS Project has delivered the complete suite of reporting capabilities, MOD will be able to share a range of management information across the Department, to allow future decisions to be made about SLA. The SLAMIS project has taken longer than intended to deliver, reflecting the complexity of the existing SLA environment and operating models, the extensive range of stakeholders and dependencies and, the challenges of maintaining and reporting accurate data.
24. In progress to date, the SLAMIS booking tool has already successfully been rolled out across the UK and part of the overseas estate to improve FLC management of SLA; SLAMIS now offers the MOD a detailed picture of the SLA estate, with 127,105 bedspaces now bookable through accommodation cells.[11] Given the variation of operating models, the SLAMIS booking tool was designed to be sufficiently basic to enable core allocation activity, with the requirement for the FLCs to provide an offline service to support local working practices; this has required engagement across multiple stakeholder groups at establishment level. There is potential to generate improvements through greater centralisation, at site level, and on a more regional basis, through efficiencies of scale, staff resilience and increased knowledge base of accommodation policy. While SLAMIS continues to embed, FLCs report that at site level it has enabled them to better interrogate data and has driven better behaviours in the management of SLA accommodation. By way of example the Royal Navy has piloted a flexible room pilot in Portsmouth, providing a hotel-style booking service of SLA to maximise occupancy. However, this needs to be cognisant of the requirement for unit cohesion, which benefits the lived experience, mental health and contribution to the moral component of combat power.
25. Currently data regarding SLA is sourced from several different locations which risks inconsistent reporting. The introduction of SLAMIS will, once fully delivered, provide an accurate view of SLA across the whole estate via the Asset Information Portal (AIP). The data available will include number, location, condition and utilisation.
Question 4 – (i) Is enough money being invested to modernise and future proof military accommodation and (ii) how long will it take for all military accommodation to meet an acceptable standard of energy efficiency? (iii) Is the MOD being as forward thinking and innovative as it could be in its approach to new housing stock?
(i) Is enough money being invested to modernise and future proof military accommodation?
26. Overview. Since delegation of funding to FLCs in 2018, significant progress has been made in improving SLA condition. Over the next 10 years, FLCs and DEOP have committed to a £5.3 billion SLA improvement programme.
27. Royal Navy. Plans to invest £1 billion over the next 10 years on SLA, tackling the worst accommodation and balancing this with modernisation of trainee accommodation. Navy Command has active, funded projects to replace or refurbish SLA blocks (and where necessary, their associated messes and district heating systems) at eight establishments, with work starting on site for the first of these during autumn 2023.
28. Army. Using a programmatic approach over 10 years, the plan is to life cycle replace 16,500 permanent SLA bedspaces with new net-zero buildings delivered through modular modern methods of construction. This is the biggest SLA programme in Defence since Project Single Living Accommodation Modernisation (SLAM) 20 years ago, and by July 2023 over 1,000 of the bedspaces in this new programme were under construction.
29. RAF. The SLA Programme has identified approximately 7,000 bedspaces for replacement and 6,000 bedspaces for refurbishment, removing all Grade 3 and Grade 4 SLA for permanent staff and trainees over the next 10 years. This will address the worst SLA across the RAF estate and provide modern, ensuite and sustainable accommodation. As of August 2023, there are five Projects within the SLA Programme currently in progress at RAF Marham, Honington, Waddington, Cosford and Brize Norton, which will provide a total of 1,260 new bedspaces once completed. Continual small-scale improvements to blocks, mainly in the form of ablution and kitchen/utility room refurbishments, will remain an integral part of Air’s infrastructure plan.
30. UKStratCom. Plans to invest ~£810 million in its SLA, principally in the Permanent Joint Operating Bases (PJOBs), where it is developing innovative approaches in response to limitations presented such as industry capacity. Seismic compliance on the Cyprus estate remains a priority.
31. Summary. A simple summary of plans by FLC and DEOP is shown at the table here. These plans are subject to funding approval in the ABC24 process and may not be confirmed until November 2024. However, they indicate a committed and ambitious intent to meet the requirements laid out in the DAS.
FLC | Plans | Funding |
Navy | Replacement or refurbishment of SLA blocks at 8 sites starting Autumn 23. | £1Bn/10 |
Army | 8,500 bedspaces/10 | £1.2Bn/10 |
DEOP (Army) | 8,696 new bedspaces/10 1,540 refurbed bedspaces/10 | £0.533Bn/10[12] |
Air | 7,000 new bedspaces/10 6,000 refurbed bedspaces/10 | £1.5Bn/10 |
UKStratCom | An SLA Programme to upgrade our worst condition SLA first | £0.810Bn/10 |
DEOP (Air and UKStratCom) | 3,404 new bedspaces/10 556 refurbed bedspaces/10 | £0.257Bn/10 |
Totals | ~40,000 | £5.3Bn/10 |
(ii) How long will it take for all military accommodation to meet an acceptable standard of energy efficiency?
32. All new build and refurbishment projects will be designed to meet legislative requirements for net zero and the MOD’s sustainability strategy. However, this will need to be subject to departmental balance of investment decisions.
33. SLA will be included as part of the strategic net zero roadmap with a greater emphasis on efficiency. Work is on-going to understand the scope of the requirement.
(iii) Is the MOD being as forward thinking and innovative as it could be in its approach to new housing stock [SLA]?
34. Technologically, the MOD has designed SLA which are modular and efficient, exploiting modern building techniques employed across the construction sector. Additionally, smart building pilot sites at RAF Leeming and HMS Collingwood are trialling the installation of wireless/battery-less smart technology in bedspaces to ensure heating and lighting use are controlled.
35. However, the most pressing issue is with funding the level of ambition that exists, while addressing the wider financial headwinds impacting the construction sector. Therefore, the department is looking to explore innovative and novel approaches in financing the future programme.
Annex:
8
SAC0070
Annex A to SLA HCDC Response
FLC SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
ROYAL NAVY
ARMY
(1) 1,025 X type rooms (Phase 1 recruits) with 5,122 bedspaces.
(2) 3,311 Y type rooms (Phase 2 Trg four bed rooms) with 9,324 bedspaces.
11 December 2023
ROYAL AIR FORCE
STRATEGIC COMMAND
Overseas
A - 7
[1] Includes 7,473 in the Permanent Joint Operating Bases (PJOBS) (Gibraltar, Cyprus, Singapore and the South Atlantic Islands) and ~10,000 in the Army overseas estate (Germany, Norway, Canada, Belize, Brunei, Kenya and Nepal).
[2] Number of Service personnel tagged as occupying Permanent SLA in JPA, as at 31 October 2022 and reported to Armed Forces Pay Review Body (AFPRB).
[3] MOD Analysis (Tri-Service) - Armed Forces strength was 145,146, including UK Regulars, Gurkhas and mobilised Reservists, 1 July 2023.
[4] An individual may occupy two types of bedspace concurrently if on a training course away from their home unit or, deployed on a short overseas tour.
[5] JSP 464 Vol 3 Pt1-2.
[6] DAS and the Strategy for Defence Infrastructure (SDI).
[7] This includes responsibility for design, resource and construct, through a combination of Royal Engineer professionally qualified officers and SNCO, while the construction force is principally made up of locally employed civilians.
[8] Navy, Army, RAF and UK Strategic Command.
[9] SLAMIS has been developed and run by DIO to draw together all SLA data (both DIO managed, and non-DIO managed) into a single location, providing oversight of availability and condition. SLAMIS includes a central booking system. See more detail at Para 23.
[10] 4 Tier-grading (4TG) is the process by which we assess the Condition for Charge for all SLA bedrooms. The new 4TG tool enables the online collation of the 14 serials of information used to provide an assessment, and for that information to be more easily reported through the SLAMIS reporting capabilities.
[11] As at 23 October 23.
[12] Total DEO investment in Army is £3.35 billion which includes technical accn. £0.533 billion is specifically SLA investment.