Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the effect of the Future Accommodation Model on the number of Service personnel living unaccompanied.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has engaged closely with Service families and family organisations throughout the development of the Future Accommodation Model (FAM). Throughout this period, various means of communication including the development of a Gov.uk website, close liaison with the single Services, Families Federations and community information networks have supported a steady flow of information. Planning is under way to ensure that there will be regular communication and detail on the impact of FAM on Service personnel and their families in the very near future, and as the Pilot implementation progresses in 2019.

The pilot will allow MOD to test this new approach and understand how it affects all Service personnel and their families, including those who are single, those who are in a long-term relationship and those who live unaccompanied. Feedback will inform a decision on whether or not to implement FAM across the UK in the future. The pilot, which is expected to take place at a small number of military bases is being planned to start in autumn 2019.

More general information about FAM can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/ government/publications/future-accommodation-model-what-you-need-to-know.