Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many service family accommodation units have been used to house civilians in the last three years.

The total number of Service Family Accommodation (SFA) properties allocated under a civilian licence or as part of a sub-letting programme in the last three years is shown below:

Defence civilians (generally civil servants and/or reservists) occupying SFA outside of the Sub-Let Programme have an eligibility to reside in the properties. They will only be allocated a property should there be sufficient SFA in the area to meet the requirement for entitled personnel.

In addition, as the target operating margin of 8-10% empty properties is unlikely to be reached in the short term, and to meet a wider Government initiative to increase the amount of affordable housing across the UK, the Department has introduced a larger scaled Sub-Let programme aimed at the civilian market. Over 2,300 properties have been identified for potential sub-let within a rolling programme. Over 300 properties have now been let and occupied by tenants paying market rates. It is expected the programme will generate around £50 million over five years. This income has already been assumed, and the control total adjusted accordingly. A guiding principle in this initiative is that Service personnel will not be disadvantaged.