I have placed the following on another secure army site.
I'm sure you will all understand the need to get these questions answered!
To that end I have sent these questions to some MPs' and await their reply
I do believe the JSHAO requires to get more power to assist service leavers when they are about to depart from the forces. But thats another area of debate.
My reason for asking about Annington homes and the Housing Mag is simple; The present discount being offered to service personnel is disgraceful, it's no different to what civilians are offered. And the priority to service leavers has been forgotten about!
The Government has made well OVER 100million in the profit shared agreement with Annington Homes. Why is the JSHAO not asking about better provisions for service leavers? I wouls ask the same of the AFF, and I have in the past.
Taken Before Defence Committee. The Work of Defence Estates Tuesday 15 May 2007.
Q23 Mr Holloway: I think that is very much the point that Mr Jenkins raises. Soldiers that I served with who have now done their 20 years and are just leaving now a lot of them are in all sorts of grief in terms of the property ladder. When do you think some proposals on that might come up?
Vice Admiral Laurence: The policy has been in place now for a couple of years, but there is an inevitable (perhaps "conflict" is too strong a word) balance to be struck between, on the one hand, encouraging unit cohesion and encouraging people to live on the patch, so to speak; and, on the other, encouraging people to buy their own house which brings responsibilities away from the unit. There is a balance to be struck there and I think we are moving forward slowly. I personally think one of the most important factors in all this is to meet the aspirations of our people. If they are wanting to buy houses, if that is what they see as the way ahead, then I think we ought to help them to do so where we can.
Q24 Mr Holloway: They might also be encouraged, because it probably does not occur to a lot of squaddies.
Vice Admiral Laurence: Absolutely.
Mr Olney: As you know, the housing stock is leased back to Annington. Where we do release housing back to Annington they do have a policy of, in effect, first refusal to our former Armed Service. That has certainly happened in a number of cases.
Q25 Chairman: Mr Olney, could we look at a sentence from our brief, and I do not often do this: "... there has been some disquiet that the Service families currently in such properties have not automatically been given first refusal on the purchase of their homes". Is that wrong?
Mr Olney: They do not automatically but they are certainly given help and support to acquire property. The recent one which was in the newspaper was Cottishall where there were a number of former servicemen who acquired property.
Q26 Mr Jones: I was speaking last night to Bob Russell, Member for Colchester, who was quite exercised about this. He said what you have just said is not true; families are not given first priority for these homes. That is why you have the situation about the people camping out. By your answer, I am not really clear what this priority is. What does it actually mean?
Mr Olney: Would it be worthwhile if I provided you with a note, which would provide a fuller answer?
This is the said NOTE I believe the JSHAO should be asking about
Chairman: Certainly it would; but if it leaves us in confusion we might need to ask you to come back in front of the Committee, because it is something that we will want to clear up, so if you could give us a note.
Q27 Mr Jenkins: Could it not include the number of properties actually sold as a total? What the ratio was would be very interesting.
Mr Olney: Could I just clear up that point. We will hand properties back to Annington. I just want to make it clear, we would not sell them.
Mr Jones: We know how it works.
Chairman: Could you give us a note, please. Could you also explain how it is that they are sometimes given the right of first priority but not automatically, and when that difference arises.
Q28 Mr Jones: Chairman, could we have the percentage of homes that have actually been sold; that would be interesting.
Vice Admiral Laurence: We will try to find that information out. I have a feeling it may be difficult to produce, but we will see what figures we have got.
Q29 Mr Jones: Chairman, I am sorry, but if you do not know that information how can you monitor that the actually policy is in place that you just told us about?
Vice Admiral Laurence: It is a fair point.
Mr Hamilton: Mr Olney indicated about selling to housing associations. I might point out that they sell houses; they do not purchase; you cannot buy from housing associations. If you have sold houses in Scotland and you have sold them to housing associations that means effectively that anyone in that house cannot purchase a house because they do not have that policy. If you indicate who you are selling the houses to, you need to also tell us what the policy of that organisation is in relation to the purchases of the council housing. Another thing we should be mindful of is when you are talking to various organisations you should also be mindful that many local authorities prioritise Service personnel when they come back; and, therefore, that should be a factor driven into the issue of selling houses. They should be considering the local authorities who actually prioritise Service personnel who come back in again. It would be interesting to see that.
This is the link to the complete transcrip
http://www.publications.parliament....-i/uc53502.htm#muscat_highlighter_first_match
Regards
Hitback
DT_Xtremez_28: 