Hi Cooheed,
I believe the ruling is for England. Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales have been mentioned in the
The Nation’s Commitment: Cross-Government Support to our Armed Forces, their Families and Veterans
Presented to Parliament by the Secretary of State for Defence and the Minister of State for the Armed Forces By Command of Her Majesty
July 2008 http://www.mod.uk/NR/rdonlyres/415BB952-6850-45D0-B82D-C221CD0F6252/0/Cm7424.pdf
The following are extracts from the link above:
Housing
2.13Affordable Homes. Welsh and Scottish Ministers are making Service people a priority group within their shared equity schemes. This will be equivalent to the provisions for Armed Forces personnel in the existing Key Worker Living scheme in England. The Prime Minister announced that a £20M pilot scheme to promote home ownership for Service personnel would be launched in 2009 by the MOD. This will be based on shared equity or rent-to-buy principles. We will announce its details this year. Discussions are taking place with commercial providers, housing associations and other stakeholders to establish how we will provide a practical vehicle to deliver increased home ownership. Our aim will be to maximise the number of servicemen and women who can get onto the housing ladder.
2.14Defence Estates. MOD owns, leases, manages and maintains substantial land and housing assets. By the end of the year Defence Estates will publish a strategy of how these will be managed over the next 10 years.
2.15Adapted Social Housing. Seriously injured Service personnel can face delays in obtaining suitable adapted social housing where they are not given sufficient priority. Seriously injured personnel in England and Wales should be given ‘additional preference’ (i.e. high priority for social housing) and we will issue statutory guidance to reinforce this message. Scottish Ministers will remind landlords of the existing high priority that seriously injured personnel in Scotland receive for adapted social housing and will repeat this in future allocations guidance.
2.16Adapted Affordable Homes. Service people in England have Key Worker status and are therefore entitled to the Key Worker Living scheme. For injured personnel, the cost of adapting homes to cater for specific needs is not always covered (by the Key Worker scheme). However, injured Service personnel who buy a home through this scheme may be eligible for the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) which covers the cost of adaptations. The Welsh Assembly Government will also support this initiative. Injured Service personnel buying a home through the Low-cost Initiative for First Time buyers in Scotland may also be eligible for a grant from the local authority to cover the cost of any necessary adaptations.
2.17 Disabled Facilities Grant Means Test
– Disregard of AFCS/WPS Payments.
AFCS and WPS payments for the most seriously disabled, as set out in the supplementary annex, will be disregarded in the means test for DFG in England and Wales. In Scotland this means test is being considered for discontinuation. This means that grants for housing adaptation, up to £30,000, will not be reduced by AFCS/WPS compensation payments.
2.18 Affordable Homes – Extending Access.
Although Servicemen and women in England have Key Worker status, many do not have the opportunity to purchase a home. We are therefore extending Key Worker status to enable Service leavers to access the Key Worker Living scheme 12 months after discharge. Scottish Ministers have agreed to extend access to their affordable housing schemes to Service leavers for a similar 12 months after discharge. The Welsh Assembly Government will reflect this commitment in its ongoing review of its scheme.
2.19 Social Housing – Local Connection.
Local connection can be a factor in the allocation of social housing. Current legislation prevents Service personnel from establishing a local connection with the area in which they are serving. We are changing the legislation in England and Wales, enabling Service personnel to establish a local connection, so improving access to social housing. Scottish Ministers are consulting on changing legislation so that employment/residence connected to the Armed Forces constitutes a local connection for the purposes of homelessness legislation in the same way as civilian employment/residence.
2.20Certificate of Cessation. Service people occupying Service family accommodation and approaching their discharge date can request a Certificate of Cessation up to six months before their last day of service. Some local authorities may not accept that this certificate demonstrates
impending homelessness, and may insist on MOD obtaining a possession order
before providing housing assistance. We have issued statutory guidance, advising authorities not to insist on a possession
order. We will establish the extent of the problem and take further steps as
necessary to ensure that local authorities do not insist on a possession order where a Certificate of Cessation has been issued. Scottish Ministers and the Welsh Assembly Government have endorsed this approach.
2.21Using MOD Void Property. Service leavers can occupy void MOD property as an interim measure after leaving. Where this is the case we will work with Local Authorities to ensure that the use of surplus stock in this way does not inadvertently disadvantage Service leavers who are seeking social housing. MOD is also looking at whether it could make some of its existing empty properties available long-term to injured personnel who prefer to remain within a familiar military environment.
2.22Homelessness. To help prevent homelessness, the Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG) will contribute £400,000 to provide new supported housing for Service leavers in England to enable them to make a successful transition to civilian life. We will work with the Housing Corporation to deliver this initiative which will also be supported by MOD gifting land. We will explore opportunities with Welsh and Scottish Ministers and ex-Service charities on housing ventures that would do more to meet the accommodation needs of veterans in Wales and Scotland.
I hope this helps answer your question.
Regards
Hitback