'Homes for heroes:' Government aims to deliver more refurbs for military families after 1,000 houses upgraded in time for Christmas
A further 250 military homes are set to receive upgrades in the new year
A Government minister has vowed to keep delivering more "homes for heroes" after it was announced that 1,000 military properties were upgraded in time for Christmas.
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Luke Pollard, Defence Readiness and Industry Minister, told LBC that Labour plan to "refit nine in ten military homes" for families of servicemen and women.
It comes after Downing Street announced improvements were made to fix 1,000 of the worst forces ahead of schedule.
Speaking to LBC's Henry Riley, in for Tom Swarbrick, Mr Pollard said he and his colleagues were aiming to finish all of the refurbishments, equating to 40,000 homes, within the next decade.
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He said: "We know that we ask so much of our armed forces, so many sacrifices. The least they should expect is a safe and decent home.
"We can confirm today that our effort to refurbish the thousand worst military homes has been completed in time for Christmas and ahead of schedule.
"That is making sure that we're fixing those broken boilers, leaky roofs, the bathrooms and kitchens that weren't up to standard in the 1,000 worst homes.
"This is just the start. The next 250 are in our sites for work to start in the beginning of the new year and this is part of our plan to refit nine in ten military homes.
"So if you serve in uniform, you should know that you and your family have a safe and decent home. It's the least they should expect.
"I want homes fit for heroes."
The upgrades mark the the first steps of delivery under the Ministry of Defence's mission to transform military family housing, with £9bn of investment allocated for a generational renewal of defence housing over the next ten years.
Works in England include improvements to more than 200 homes in Wiltshire and Windsor, as well as homes in Bassingbourn, Swanton Morely, Woodbridge and Uxbridge.
Mr Pollard added: "We want to be very clear that our mission Is to refit nine in 10 of those military homes that we have in the next decade. Now, to do that, we've brought back 36,000 defence housing, defence homes that were privatised in the 90s.
"Frankly, they're not up to the scratch that we need for our armed forces, and bringing them back into the public ownership saves us £400,000 a day in rent that we otherwise would have been paying.
"We're using some of that money to invest in our armed forces accommodation to sort out the broken boilers, the leaky roofs, the things that make living in a house so difficult for our service personnel.
"Especially when you consider that to be a member of our armed forces, you are often told where you're deployed around the country and you can be deployed abroad when your family is still at home.
"We're aiming to complete them all in the next decade."
Defece Secretary John Healy said: "Our Armed Forces and their families sacrifice so much for our country, the least they deserve are safe and decent homes.
"The work we’ve done to upgrade the 1,000 worst homes means that more families can now enjoy Christmas together in homes that are fit for heroes."