Right to military homes 'under threat' 27.02.12
8The Ministry of Defence says no decisions have been made about changes to Army accommodation after reports that married soldiers could be forced to leave their homes.
The Times newspaper says the MOD is looking to cut costs by adopting plans to end the right to a home after eight years of service in a review of services housing.
Instead thousands of Armed Forces personnel would have to go to the commercial property market, where rents have reached record highs.
Subsidised military housing for forces families is a career-long entitlement that is seen as a central pillar of the Military Covenant. It allows soldiers to keep spouses and children with them at bases in the UK and overseas.
The MOD says its report into military housing has not yet reached any conclusions and will not be published until the summer.
Julie McCarthy, the Chief Executive of the Army Families Federation, has been involved with the proposals, known as the "Future Accommodation Project."
In a statement on the AFF website she said: "Whilst it is true that one of the options (of many) was the limiting of service provided accommodation to a specified number of years, it is AFF's belief that this was not only unpopular but considered unworkable by both the federations and the single services and would therefore be unlikely to be the approved recommendation.
"There is no doubt that the Defence Estate is expensive to maintain and that changes need to be made to make its long term future viable but that does not mean the withdrawal of accommodation altogether and until we know more, families should not be worried by stories such as this.
"Rest assured that AFF is continually making the case for Service provided accommodation, for greater investment in its upkeep and for increased availability in high-demand areas."