MP tables law change to improve homes for armed forces personnel
MP Helen Morgan has proposed a law change to ensure armed forces personnel and their families live in decent standard accommodation.
The North Shropshire MP has tabled an amendment to the Renters Reform Bill currently going through Parliament in a bid to improve the homes that servicemen and women live in.
Mrs Morgan has been campaigning for improvements to service accommodation since meeting members of the RAF and Army living in Shawbury and Tern Hill in her constituency.
Last year, Mrs Morgan revealed that single soldiers at Tern Hill had been moved into about 40 shipping containers, which she said had been ‘kitted out like budget hotel accommodation’.
She's also raised instances of service accommodation plagued by mould, and recently highlighted an ongoing case involving an RAF family who were forced into temporary accommodation after their roof collapsed.
The Lib Dem MP is now urging the Government to support the amendment which would make sure all accommodation rented from the Defence Infrastructure Organisation by service individuals and families is subject to the Decent Homes Standard.
She said: “Our armed forces are asked to put their lives on the line for us and yet they are also being asked to live in sub-standard accommodation. This is wrong and must be rectified. My amendment would help achieve this.
“I’ve been shocked by the state of the service families are receiving in North Shropshire and I know similar stories are being repeated at bases across the country.
“The Government has been promising to address poor service accommodation for as long as I can remember. Now they have the chance to back up their words and make sure every military home is of an acceptable standard.”
