To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Written Statement of 13 November 2023 on Service Family Accommodation and Winter Planning, HCWS28, how much funding the Defence Infrastructure Organisation has allocated to the damp and mould mitigation package for 4000 families as of 8 January 2024.
Answered on
11 January 2024
As part of the £400 million additional funding announced in the July 2023 Defence Command Paper Refresh over this financial year and next, the Department has made tackling damp and mould in Service Family Accommodation (SFA) a key priority. Service families will not be placed in homes suffering from damp and mould and we have developed processes to assess and tackle new cases as they arise.
We are spending £29 million over the next 12 months on a programme of mitigation works to address damp and mould in over 4,000 SFA, including first responder visits and installation of improved ventilation. Additionally, £94 million is being dedicated to more substantial works, including replacement doors and windows, upgraded heating systems including boilers, improvements to groundwater drainage and repairs to damp-proof courses, roof repairs and/or replacement and installation of external wall insulation to make SFA more energy efficient and to prevent damp and mould reoccurring.
We are dealing with decades of under-investment in SFA and, as such, damp and mould will inevitably recur and require a constant and ongoing programme of activity. As such we cannot provide a definitive estimate of the costs; what is clear that long-term investment and the wholesale modernisation of the estate to bring energy efficiency and ventilation up to modern standards will be required.