Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) service family accommodation and (b) single living accommodation homes have been left without (i) heating and (ii) hot water for more than 24 hours in the latest period for which data is available.

Service Family Accommodation (SFA)

No home should be left without any form of heating or hot water for more than 24 hours. Where a fault with the permanent heating system cannot be rectified within this timeframe, alternative forms of heating and sources of hot water, or alternative accommodation, should be provided.

Total loss of permanent heating is classed as an Urgent task during the heating season (October to April). The Acceptable Level of Performance (the minimum contracted standard) for Urgent reactive maintenance response is 48 hours to respond and rectify the problem. Therefore, data is compiled against that timeframe rather than for 24 hours.

(i) As at 12 January 2023, I can confirm that 43 out of a total of 47,894 Service Family Accommodation properties are experiencing total loss of permanent heating, over the ALP of 48 hours. Measures have been put in place to provide them with temporary heating or temporary accommodation as appropriate.

(ii) Information on hot water loss is currently not recorded in the format requested. However, I can confirm that in the month of December 2022, VIVO carried out at total of 164 hot water repairs and as at 13 January 2023, Amey had 1 Service Family Accommodation property which had experienced hot water loss for over 48 hours.

Single Living Accommodation (SLA)

SLA is managed by a number of different Maintenance Management Organisations (MMOs) across the MOD estate. As a result, data to provide a complete estate wide response is not held centrally and can only be provided at disproportionate cost.