A WHARFEDALE MP is calling on the Government to end the ‘scandal’ of Armed Forces housing.

Alex Sobel (Lab, Leeds North West) says action is needed to ensure armed forces families receive ‘decent, affordable homes’.

Mr Sobel, whose constituency includes Otley, Bramhope, Pool-in-Wharfedale and Yeadon, is following up concerns that have been raised locally about the standard, cost and future of military accommodation.

He said: “It has been a hundred years since Lloyd George demanded ‘a land fit for heroes.

“This anniversary of the end of the First World War is a chance to reflect, not just on those who we have lost over the past century, but on the way that service personnel and their families are provided for in modern Britain.

“Service families live transient lives, moving from place to place. This is why it is so important that there are enough decent homes for them to live in.”

In 1996 the John Major-led Government sold off 57,400 service family homes to Annington Homes, a private provider. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) received £1.67 billion upfront for the properties, which were then leased back to the ministry.

But a recently published National Audit Office report found that, due to the increase in house prices, the sell-off has actually left the government between £2.2 billion and £4.2 billion worse off than if it had kept the homes.

Annington Homes have since sold off 20,000 houses and are also looking to earn more money from them by renting to civilians.

Mr Sobel said: “Most worryingly, the contract agreed with Annington Homes allowed for a ‘rent review’ in 2021. Now many armed forces families are fearful about a sudden and steep increase in the cost of their housing.

“Many service families are very worried about their housing but fear speaking out. I have a responsibility to give them a voice and I am calling on the Ministry of Defence to hear their voices and act to ensure a standard of decent, affordable homes that serving armed forces families deserve.

“The way military homes have been used to provide profit for the private sector is a scandal, one that is falling hardest on those who risk their lives in service to their country.”