FEDERATION
this example uses today’s prices, not those in 2016.
What will the new system deliver? 5. MOD will reinvest all the additional charges paid into improving Service accommodation. This will focus investment on issues that matter to Service personnel, such as new kitchens and bathrooms, improved energy efficiency, treating mould and damp and improving broadband services. There are three programmes of improvements that we can announce now.
a. From April 2016, no family will move into a home that does not meet the “Decent Homes Standard”. This will set specific new standards in several key areas. The home must:
• Meet all legal requirements • Be in a reasonable state of repair (precisely defined for things like the roof and walls)
• Meet strict criteria for mould and damp • Have reasonably modern facilities and services – eg kitchens less than 20 years old
• Meet minimum standards of energy efficiency.
b. An energy efficiency investment programme will be implemented that will reduce the energy bills for around 8000 occupants by an average of more than £500 a year. This, combined with an improved Fuel Subsidy Scheme, should result in energy bills for every Serviceperson in SFA being significantly lower than the national average by April 2019.
c. About half of our family homes are
currently at the highest standard for condition. The additional funds will underpin a programme of improvements (alongside further house purchases) that will increase this proportion, for instance by enabling more replacement kitchens, bathrooms, double glazing and insulation to be installed.
6. Overall, Service accommodation will continue to represent very good value for money compared to the civilian market. The majority of Service personnel will continue to spend about 10-15% of their salary on accommodation – this compares to, on average, 30% of income for social renters and 40% for private renters. A significant subsidy will continue to be applied to all Service Family Accommodation, reflecting the disadvantages of living in it (e.g. lack of choice of property, lack of security of tenure and inability to make improvements).
How will the new assessment system work? 7. On top of the subsidy given for all properties, the accommodation charges will be further discounted where the accommodation does not meet certain criteria, based on three key factors; the condition of the house, the size of the house and how close it is to key amenities.
8. Condition will be assessed using the tried-and-tested “Decent Homes Standard”. There will be further discounts where homes don’t provide the things occupants told us were most important to them – including for poor energy efficiency and where the broadband connection is slower than the UK average. The new system will also ensure that occupants will see fair
rental increases where improvements are made. Further detail on exactly how this will work will be published next year.
We also plan to introduce broadly the same system for substitute SFA and for SFA overseas in April 2016. We expect charges for these accommodation types to remain broadly the same as under the current system but, if there are increases, they will be capped in a similar way to UK SFA. Further information will be provided early next year. We plan to introduce CAAS for Single Living Accommodation in 2017 and will provide more information on this closer to the time.
What happens next? • Throughout 2015, properties will be assessed for their new charge. Some Service personnel will receive letters requesting access to survey their property. They will be assessed by professionally trained housing specialists to ensure accurate, property specific assessments are used to set charges.
• Around July 2015, an estimated charge will be sent to all occupants to help Family plan their finances.
• In Summer/Autumn 2015, a series of events and publications will enable Service personnel to see in more detail how the new system will work.
• In February 2016, prior to CAAS being launched in April 2016, notification of final charges will be sent to all occupants. No charges will change before April 2016.
To keep up to date on this area of the NEM, why not sign up to alerts from
www.gov.uk (search CAAS).
20
Envoy Winter 2014
www.raf-ff.org.uk
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