THE condition of many military homes is condemned as “unacceptable” by a committee of MPs today – after upgrade work was shelved for three years.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) is accused of opting for “false economy” after halting improvements to save £141m, only to admit the delays could end up costing at least £190m.

Meanwhile, most single Armed Forces personnel live in substandard rooms and the MoD is unable to say when – if ever – its target for tackling the problem will be met.

Some of that accommodation requires major repairs to roofs, walls and bathrooms, lacks showers, or suffers defects including penetrating damp, condensation and poor ventilation.

During its inquiry, the Conservative-led defence select committee visited Catterick Garrison, in North Yorkshire, Europe’s biggest Army base.

Its report says it found families’ accommodation “of varying age and condition” and some for single personnel “which were very run down” – as well as new, high-standard en-suite rooms.

Also at Catterick, it heard complaints of “lots of short fixes, instead of one good quality repair” – something it said the MoD “should investigate”.

James Arbuthnot, the committee’s Tory chairman, said the three-year pause on upgrades made personnel doubt the Government’s commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant.

He added: “We recommend that the MoD look again urgently at the stoppage, which, in any case, could well be a false economy.

“It is unacceptable that over 60 per cent of single living accommodation is in a condition not deemed satisfactory by the MoD and that the MoD cannot estimate how long it will take to remedy that situation.”

The report states that 22,296 single personnel live in “condition three” homes and a further 53,849 in “condition four”. Only the first two categories are deemed acceptable.

The MoD’s “aspiration” is for 90 per cent of accommodation to be in those top two conditions, but, an official told the inquiry: “I cannot predict when that is likely to be.”

In January, it stated that no family would be in placed in condition three or four accommodation, but – one month later – a total of 924 families were living in such rooms.

The Families Federation told the MPs that inquiries and complaints about accommodation account for “more than half of the regular communications they receive”.

In March, the Chancellor announced £100m to repair and refurbish 650 family properties and make 600 single rooms en-suite, but critics said it was old money.

The MoD has also pledged to introduce a Future Accommodation Project, but today’s report warns it will “require upfront start-up costs” – with no indication they will be available.

It concludes: “The MoD should fully recognise that serving Armed Forces personnel, and their families, regard accommodation as fundamental to the Armed Forces Covenant.”

* Are you a member of the Armed Forces or have a serving family member? What do you think of Army accommodation? Email newsdesk@nne.co.uk or call 01325-505065.