Armed Forces: Empty Property

Dr. Fox
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many and what percentage of (a) service family accommodation and (b) single living accommodation (i) in the UK and (ii) overseas are void properties.

Mr. Kevan Jones
The table provided shows the number of void service family accommodation properties held in the UK and Overseas as at 1 May 2009:

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|Location           |Total number of SFA|Number|Percentage|
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|UK                 |49,884             |8,390 |17        |
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|Overseas and Europe|15,430             |3,062 |20        |
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It is not possible to provide the number of void single living accommodation properties as the information is currently being verified.

Service accommodation is held void for various reasons such as it is awaiting moves of service personnel, improvement or modernisation, demolition or disposal. The Department is making vigorous efforts to reduce the percentage of voids, but there will always need to be a management margin to allow properties to be available for eligible service personnel when required.