‘Exodus’ from Army due to rising rents

THE Armed Forces is facing an “exodus of the brightest and best” because poorquality accommodation and rising rents are putting an increasing strain on families, a report finds today.

Sir Julian Brazier, a former defence minister, warns in a Centre for Social Justice report that the Army and RAF will continue to shrink, leaving the UK’s defence in the hands of “a diminishing and unhappy pool of people”.

He warns that rents are due to rise by 40 per cent by 2021 and also attacks government plans to encourage more people to rent privately instead of living in military accommodation.

Sir Julian said: “These are people who put their lives on the line for Queen and country and yet the deal for their families is getting worse – we are seeing an exodus of the brightest and the best from the Armed Forces.

“The new plans for service housing envisage moving families out of service accommodation into the private rental sector. Too many are leaving active service because we aren’t doing enough to support them – and so we risk having equipment manned by a diminishing and unhappy pool of people.”

The report also raises concerns about the Forces Help to Buy scheme, which helps military personnel get on the housing ladder with government-backed loans.

It says that because soldiers are often stationed far from home many choose to let out their properties. They have subsequently been hit by a crackdown on buy-tolet landlords which has seen them lose mortgage relief.

The report calls for an increase in spending to improve subsidised military accommodation.