14 July 2016 | Herpreet Kaur Grewal

The Ministry of Defence and contractor CarillionAmey are “badly letting down service families” by providing them with poor accommodation and often leaving them without basic requirements, according to a report by an influential body of MPs.

The Public Accounts Committee describes CarillionAmey’s performance as “totally unacceptable” and says it is right that the MoD is considering terminating the contract.

In some cases, warns the committee, frustration with the failure to carry out repairs “may be driving some highly trained personnel to leave the military, wasting the investment made in them”.

Among its recommendations to the government, the committee says the MoD must explain what it will do to improve the way it consults with families “when setting policies and agreeing contracts that will impact upon their lives”.

It should ensure CarillionAmey or any replacement contractor “meets or exceeds” its estate maintenance obligations for the lifetime of the contract.

Steps must be taken to ensure that future contractors are capable of delivering the agreed service at the agreed price, and that an effective penalty/incentive regime should be put in place.

The MoD should also write to the committee promptly when a decision is made whether or not to continue the contract with CarillionAmey, setting out the evidence on performance supporting this decision.

Daniel Easthope, managing director of CarillionAmey, said: “Our housing service is now performing well against key contract indicators following the delivery of an aggressive improvement plan, and we are sustaining that performance. We are also working closely with the Defence Infrastructure Organisation to improve service families’ experience by delivering improvements to the housing stock and through engaging with service families and the family federations to discuss how we can further support their needs.”