Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Written Statement of 17 December 2024 on Developments in Military Housing, HCWS323, when his Department commenced negotiations with Annington Homes Ltd. to reacquire 36,000 service family estate homes.

Negotiations with Annington Homes Ltd to reacquire c36,000 Service Family Accommodation properties began in May 2024. These negotiations included direct meetings at a senior level. Continued legal engagement included three legal summits held in November and December 2024.

The opportunity for this landmark deal was presented following a High Court ruling in May 2023 in the Ministry of Defence's (MOD) favour. This established MOD’s legal right to reacquire the houses from Annington, providing a once-in-a-generation opportunity to fix the long-term decline in military housing and deliver homes fit for heroes.

The deal represented excellent value for money. MOD purchased the estate for under £6 billion and the properties were valued by Annington at £10.1 billion (when not subject to leases). Eliminating the liabilities associated with the leases created budgetary headroom to partially fund this purchase, meaning that the public expenditure impact of this measure, and the impact on public sector net debt, is confined to £1.7 billion.