Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what obligations contractors providing maintenance and management of (a) Service Family Accommodation and (b) Single Living Accommodation have to respond to requests for repairs for issues related to the loss of heating within 48 hours.

For Service Family Accommodation, Amey and VIVO have a contractual obligation to treat loss of heating as Urgent during the winter months (31 October to 01 May). An Urgent issue must be responded to within 48 hours.

Should a vulnerable person live in Service Family Accommodation, loss of heating is defined as Urgent at any time of year.

No home should be left without heating for more than 24 hours. Should it not be possible to quickly resolve the issue, alternative forms of heating are provided, and, in some cases, alternative temporary accommodation offered.

For Single Living Accommodation, contractors are obliged to respond to the loss of heating immediately to make safe, and within 12 hours to restore functionality.