Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent estimate he has made of the number and proportion of single living accommodation bed spaces that meet building regulation standards.

All Single Living Accommodation (SLA) bedspaces built since the 1960s - when the Building Regulations came into force - have been required to meet the standards imposed by the Regulations.

The Crown has immunity and exemption from the procedural requirements of the Building Regulations in the UK, but Departmental policy mandates that all building works must comply with the minimum standards imposed by the Building Regulations. This includes the routine safety assessments, maintenance and improvement programmes applied to all SLA buildings constructed prior to the Regulations.

The MOD's Building Regulations Compliance System (BRCS) is designed to broadly replicate the civilian Building Control process and builds on the safety culture within the MOD. BRCS also applies to building work overseas. The Defence Infrastructure Organisation's Building Control Compliance Authority ensures compliance with the procedures of the BRCS, the technical application of Building Regulations, and selects projects for audit.