Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many homes occupied by families from (a) RAF Shawbury, (b) RAF Cosford and (c) Clive Barracks do not have up to date gas safety certificates.

The following table provides a breakdown of occupied Service Family Accommodation (SFA) for (a) RAF Shawbury, (b) RAF Cosford and (c) Clive Barracks (Ternhill), with expired Gas Safety Certificates and Electrical Installation Condition Reports (EICR):

Engineers have attended the 10 homes with expired Gas Safety Certificates at least once, with the majority attended more than once, however, the contractor has been unable to gain access or confirm an appointment with all the families. It remains a top priority to gain access to these homes.

Appointments to complete the EICRs for the 156 occupied SFA at these sites have been made and should be carried out by the end of August 2023. A number of factors have led to the EICR backlog accumulating, for example, supply chain resource problems, and legislation has reduced the currency of existing electrical safety certificates from 10 years to five, increasing the frequency of the checks.

The safety of our personnel and their families is our highest priority. It is unacceptable for any family to be living in a home without the necessary checks.