Issue

Whilst individuals in SLA are entitled to claim back the accommodation element of their SLA charge, on a per day basis, when it falls below the criteria in the Defence Minimum Standards for SLA (DMS), there is no mechanism to claim compensation for the inconvenience, in comparison to similar situations found in the civilian spheres or provided to those residing in Service Families Accomodation (SFA).

Recommendations

The Defence Committee is invited to agree with the following recommendations:

When any of the 5 key utilities & facilities are lost (gas, hot water, heating, electricity, or water), as a result of maintenance or repair, for more than 1 day. It is proposed that, in addition to the removal of the rental charge, a Unpleasant Living Allowance (ULA) be paid (the current rate of ULA being £4.38 per day as per Ref E).
An amendment to JSP 752, Chap 16, Section 2, Unpleasant Living Allowance, to include payment to individuals in “Main Base” barrack accommodation, when any of the aforementioned 5 key utilities/ facilities are lost.
Payments should be bounded from the date the outage is acknowledged by Stn/Hard FM team to the date of rectification.
All payments should be authorised by an OF2 to preclude financial abuse, utilising the proposed form (UWA/ULA Claim, Annex A).

Background

I believe there are several legal issues not being met by the current DMS directed letter (Ref H).

These are:

a. Utilities: For personnel in SLA, the MOD is either acting as an intermediary or a direct supplier of utilities to them. The action of raising a charge, in either scenario, identifies the MOD as being liable for the mandatory responsibilities and compensation (Ref B&C). The MOD is also a Landlord (Ref A) and using section 14(5)(b) has exemption from Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenants act 1985 (right of timely repair). This exemption from repair timescales, does not preclude them from their compensation responsibilities as a utilities supplier and billing authority. Current rates: Electricity £12 for 1st 12 hours, gas £70 after 24 hours and water £20 after 24 hours (ref B&C)

b. Heating: The MOD is the sole provider of heating to personnel in SLA and whilst the MOD has exemption from repair timescales, it does not have exemption from the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED, Ref F&G) and I believe it is failing to provide comparative compensation to all personnel irelavant of accommodation types.

The 3 statutory principals within the PSED General duties are:

i. Eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other unlawful conduct prohibited by the act

ii. Advance equality of opportunity between people who share and people, who do not share a relevant protected characteristic

iii. Foster good relations between people who share and people who do not share a relevant protected characteristic

An example of this non-compliance is:

The MOD compensates individuals who occupy SFA (Ref D) for loss of heating (£20 per day), however it does not for personnel in SLA.

This is potentially a breach of the mandatory principals within the PSED.

c. Hot Water.

i. The MOD is the sole provider of hot water to personnel in SLA and has exemption from repair timescales, supply of, or the temperature of hot water within the UK.

ii. However, JSP 752 (Ref I) directs to JTTP 4-05 (Ref J) which specifies the amount of hot water that should be supplied to personnel whilst on Operations. If this falls below the published standard, then Unpleasant Living Allowance (Operational) becomes payable. Therefore, personnel on Operations may have better access to hot water than personnel in the UK.

The SLA Lived Experience report 2024 (Ref K) states that the condition of SLA is a major contributory factor in 40% of personnel leaving the Service early, mostly due to repairs cancelled by contractors, long waiting times or poor repairs, with dissatisfaction increasing from 34% in 2022.

Maria Lyle of the RAF Families Federation stated to the Defence Committee in 2024 “Overall, the main issue is not because of the block itself, but the poor maintenance from the contractors, with them taking far too long to get anything done, or when it is done it is not to a satisfactory standard.” (Ref L)

Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED)

Further information can be found at references F&G

Summary

When the supply of utilities/facilities to personnel at UK Main bases falls below an acceptable level, the recourse available to the service person can be unacceptably slow, of poor quality, with nugatory recompense and significantly contributes towards personnel choosing to leave HM forces earlier than expected.

This leads to a disproportionate cost of training replacements, against the costs of the proposal above.

References:

A. Landlord and tenant Act 1985, Sections 11 (repairing obligations), Sect 14(5)(b) Crown exemption.

B. www.ofgem.gov.uk/information-consumers/energy-advice-households/check-compensation-rules-power-cut-or-supply-problem

C. www.ofwat.gov.uk/households/supply-and-standards/standards-of-service

D. www.pinnacleservicefamilies.co.uk/compensation

E. AFPRB 53rd edition, pg 121

F. Equality Act 2010, Sect 149

G. Public Secor Equality Duty, Guidance for public bodies 18 Dec 2023

H. 20240418-DL_DMS Directed letter- Defence Minimum Standard for Single Living Accommodation

I. JSP 752 Chap 16 para 16.0212 footnote 1: JTTP 4-05 ULA

J. Joint tactics, techniques and procedures 4-05 Chap 4-9, para 439

K. www.gov.uk/government/statistics/single-living-accommodation-lived-experience-survey-2024/single-living-accommodation-lived-experience-survey-may-2024

L. committees.parliament.uk/publications/Defence Committee/1st report- Service accommodation

Annex A

20th February 2025