Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a home-buying scheme for (a) serving armed forces personnel and (b) veterans as part of the Defence Housing Strategy.

The Defence Housing Strategy, planned for publication later this year, will set out a roadmap to deliver a generational renewal of military accommodation, where the main objective is to raise the minimum standard of Armed Forces housing.

It will also turbocharge the development of surplus military land creating opportunities for Armed Forces home ownership and support the delivery of affordable homes for families across Britain as part of the Government’s Plan for Change.

The Ministry of Defence already operates the Forces Help to Buy scheme which encourages and supports Service personnel to buy their own home, allowing them to borrow up to 50% of their salary, up to a maximum of £25,000 interest free towards the purchase of a property.