Danny Kinahan MP has called on the Executive to consider setting aside a number of the up to 59 surplus Service Family Accommodation set to be gifted to them by the MOD for former service families.
Mark Lancaster MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State and Minister for Defence Personnel and Veterans, outlined the intent to hand over these properties to the Executive in late-Spring 2016 in a Written Statement to Members of Parliament this week.
Danny Kinahan MP said:
“The Ministry of Defence appear to be showing generosity to us, let us in turn show our generosity to our servicemen and women.
“I would call on the Executive to set aside a number of these properties to serve as temporary accommodation for former service personnel and their families as they seek permanent homes after discharge from the Armed Forces or if they find themselves single and homeless.
“I will be writing to the First and deputy First Ministers to ask that they give serious consideration to this idea. This would be an incredibly caring gesture to make and could help lessen the anxiety of families returning home who may face uncertainty over their prospects of obtaining social housing in the short term.”
Notes: The written statement from Mark Lancaster MP can be found here: http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2016-02-04/HCWS509