Military accommodation must be improved - Helen

Helen Morgan, MP for North Shropshire, has criticised the Government for ignoring the chance to secure higher standards of accommodation for serving military personnel.

Helen said a Liberal Democrat Armed Forces Bill amendment would have meant Single Living Accommodation met ‘Decent Homes’ standards.

Last week the amendment failed to pass after Labour and the Tories refused to support it – prompting Helen to call for better living conditions for personnel in a video on social media, now seen by more than 15,000 people and prompting many to share their experiences.

Helen Morgan, MP for North Shropshire, said: “We rely on service men and women to keep us safe and at the very least they should be able to rely on decent standard accommodation.

“Some of the stories of poor accommodation in Shropshire have been shocking – both on and off base. Some progress has been made with family accommodation but much more needs to be done to ensure that every single serving member of the military has somewhere clean and warm to live.”

In October, the Lib Dems secured a commitment from the Government to bring service family accommodation up to the Decent Homes Standard as part of the Renters’ Rights Bill. This was a change first proposed by Helen as Housing Spokesperson during the previous Conservative government.

This means that families living near bases like RAF Shawbury will not have to put up with issues like mould, damp, flooding and cold water that have blighted homes in recent years.

But, the rule change did not apply to Single Living Accommodation, the on-base accommodation for unaccompanied personnel. In places like Shropshire’s Clive Barracks, accommodation has been basic shipping containers, with rat infestations reported.

In the social media video, Helen said she would carry on “fighting for service personnel to receive the accommodation they deserve”.

You can see the video in full here