Service Personnel Housing Summit - 16 May 2011

Summary of key issues and action points

Introduction

The Housing Minister, Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP, welcomed attendees and explained that the purpose of the summit was to explore ways of tackling the housing challenges faced by serving and ex-service personnel. He set the context for discussion and identified possible areas for discussion.

The Minister of Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans, Rt Hon Andrew Robathan MP, explained the importance of enhancing the relationship between the armed forces and the Government, and referred to the imminent publication of the Military Covenant. He also emphasised the importance of ensuring that serving and ex-service personnel should not be disadvantaged, and explained that, in certain circumstances, it may be appropriate for special provision to be made to support them.

Home ownership

The Housing Minister explained that service personnel were interested in home ownership and highlighted some of the issues that they faced in obtaining a mortgage. Key points made in the discussion included:

Credit reference agencies operated an automated system, in line with EU requirements which included an automatic default that declined mortgage applications where applicants' credit ratings were unfavourable. This disadvantaged service personnel who frequently moved accommodation;
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) was currently working with credit reference agencies to explore how the system could be changed so that service personnel were not disadvantaged;
A series of 'top tips' had been prepared offering practical help for serving personnel when applying for mortgages. This would be discussed at the Home Finance Forum, which brings together Government and key stakeholders from the housing and lending sector;
Work was also underway through the Housing Finance Forum to explore how the credit reference agencies could recognise British Forces Post Office (BFPO) addresses for credit rating purposes;
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) should also be involved in exploring how far Financial Services Authority requirements/ EU legislation was constraining banks in considering credit worthiness;
The Council of Mortgage Lenders and the Building Society Association were working with lenders to remind front-line staff of the unique nature of the Armed Forces and prevent discriminate against military personnel;
The Armed Forces Home Ownership Scheme was facilitating home ownership amongst service personnel, providing help for 81 applicants to purchase their own home.

Action: Government would offer priority for service personnel under its FirstBuy scheme and other affordable home ownership schemes.

Action: Government would continue to tackle barriers which could disadvantage service or ex-service personnel in securing a mortgage through the Home Finance Forum.

Self build

Dr Stella Clarke gave an overview of the country's first specialist housing to be built by, and accommodate, homeless ex-servicemen in Bedminster. It was led by the Community Self Build Agency, in collaboration with a local housing association. Key points made in discussion included:

Self build would particularly benefit ex-servicemen and women, who were unemployed and living in hostels by providing opportunities to build homes and gain valuable on-site skills and experience;
Government had established a self-build working group to examine the barriers that might prevent self-build. The group, which included representatives from the Bedminster self-build project, planned to report in the summer.

Action: Government would ensure that the self-build working group explored what specific actions might be needed to enable more ex-service personnel to bring forward self-build housing projects.

Social housing

Councillor Lines explained how Birmingham was the first local authority in the country to build family homes exclusively for ex-service personnel. It also provided a dedicated service for ex-service veterans looking for a council home, recognising a priority award within its allocation policy; and was working with relevant agencies to provide adaptations for injured ex service personnel. Key points made in discussion included:

Some local authorities did not recognise the Certification of Cessation of Right to Occupy which the Ministry of Defence issued to service personnel 6 months before they left Armed Forces accommodation. As a result, the Ministry of Defence was required to seek possession of the accommodation through the courts. This caused distress and uncertainty for the family/individuals concerned, and resulted in additional burdens/costs for the Ministry of Defence;
Whilst some local authorities recorded whether applications for social housing were from ex-service personnel, the majority did not. It was therefore difficult to gauge the number of ex-service personnel who required social housing;
Whilst some councils prioritised applications from ex-service personnel, others did not appear to do so;
Government planned to consult on new guidance to local authorities on social housing allocations in the Autumn. This would pick-up the points in the existing Armed Forces Circular that Service personnel disabled in action should be given high priority for suitably adapted social housing; and advise on changes to the definition of 'local connection' which put service personnel on an equal footing with civilians.

Action: Government would consider whether there was scope to do more to encourage local authorities to recognise cessation certificates.

Action: Consideration would be given to whether Government's allocations guidance might encourage fairer treatment for ex-military personnel applying to live in social housing.

Homelessness

The Housing Minister explained that the number of ex-service personnel who had become homeless since leaving the Armed Forces and had fallen significantly since the 1990s; the latest research suggested that only 3-4 per cent of rough sleepers in London had been in the Armed Forces. Key points made in the discussion included:

It was important that help should continue to be provided to help those who remained homeless, and that this should recognise the full range of individuals' support needs;
Some local authorities, such as Birmingham, were heavily involved in advising and assisting service personnel with homelessness issues.

Action: Through the cross-Government working group that has been established with the charity sector to consider homelessness, Government would consider how to join-up support to tackle homelessness amongst ex-service personnel.

Land, planning

The Housing Minister explained that Government planned to develop a New Planning Policy Framework, on which it would consult over the Summer. Key points made in the discussion included:

Consideration should be given to requiring local authorities to take account of the needs of ex-service personnel in their impact assessment;
Consideration might also be given to encouraging Annington Homes to give preference to service leavers when selling ex service accommodation, rather than selling though the open market.

Action: As part of the New Planning Policy Framework, Government would ensure that the national planning rules were flexible enough to allow disabled ex-service personnel to have homes that suited their needs.

Action: Government would work with the Ministry of Defence to ensure that surplus land that the Ministry released for development could be used for housing that benefited ex-service personnel.

Conclusion

Concluding the meeting, the Housing Minister welcomed the constructive engagement of participants. Reiterating his commitment, he invited attendees to send him further ideas about how the housing challenges facing the military could be overcome, or to share them with other attendees. To facilitate this, a note of the meeting was circulated, along with contact details, to all attendees.