In the wake of the Government鈥檚 decision to commit the Military Covenant to law Morgan Sindall Group plc, the construction and regeneration group, has published an independent review of the UK鈥檚 defence estate by the Centre for Defence Studies at King鈥檚 College London.
The Harnessing Efficiencies, Rethinking Outcomes (HERO) Review proposes how the defence estate鈥檚 assets could be utilised to reduce future dependency on the taxpayer and managed to reduce costs and more effectively serve military personnel and their families.
Commissioned by Morgan Sindall Group plc, the HERO Review considers the future of the defence estate, identifies fresh approaches to the financing, use and disposal of the Ministry of Defence鈥檚 (MOD鈥檚) significant assets, and examines the future of housing for service personnel.
In a response to the HERO Review鈥檚 findings Morgan Sindall Group plc has called for:
鈥 clear separation by the MOD of its core military operations and the associated support services, with management of the latter either being entrusted to the UK鈥檚 private sector or forming a new fourth 鈥楽upport4Services鈥� branch of the MOD
鈥reater cooperation between business and the MOD to develop the education and training of service personnel for civilian life on discharge from the armed forces 鈥� establishing a 鈥榥ew compact鈥� bringing together service people, government, the business community and academia to address current and future resource and skill shortages
鈥hat the MOD promote home ownership among service personnel by relinquishing provision of service family accommodation (SFA) in favour of a military property bond and universal military accommodation allowance or radically alter the way in which family accommodation is financed, provided and managed to reflect market conditions
鈥 rethink of the military鈥檚 approach to providing Single Living Accommodation (SLA) to harness private sector construction expertise 鈥� which could deliver a 20 per cent cost saving
Speaking at the launch of the HERO Review鈥檚 findings Paul Whitmore, Commercial Director of Morgan Sindall Group plc, said: 鈥淚n commissioning the HERO Review we wanted to encourage fresh thinking, a wider debate and a collaborative approach to defining the future of the UK鈥檚 defence estate. For example, our experience of providing communal living accommodation suggests that savings of up to 20 per cent of the current cost of providing MOD single living accommodation could be obtained through innovation in techniques and materials.
鈥淣ow, with the transformation of the Defence Estate into the Defence Infrastructure Organisation, it is not difficult to envisage a future where the organisation could either become a wholly private enterprise or one run on private sector principles.
鈥淭he construction industry and the armed services are close cousins 鈥� dealing as both do with extraordinary physical challenges, in all terrain and weather, using small highly skilled teams, and with safety as a paramount concern. We hope that the HERO Review and our response to it will provide a valuable contribution to the ongoing debate around the future of the defence estate.鈥�
The launch of the Review findings included presentations by Paul Whitmore and Dr John Gearson, Director of the Centre for Defence Studies, King鈥檚 College London, who discussed:聽
鈥loser integration of defence and civilian communities with joint investment in and shared benefit from new accommodation and associated facilities
鈥sing the post-Germany defence footprint with its annual 拢750 million expenditure to secure inward investment in partnership with local authorities;
鈥eplacing PFI with new financing arrangements such as Local Asset Backed Vehicles, Local Improvement Finance Trusts and land swap schemes to generate new value from defence estate assets while disposing of surplus ones;
鈥he desirability of an industry consultation on the Single Living Accommodation Modernisation (SLAM) Project, especially with the return of 20,000 British Army personnel from Germany, to generate efficiencies through innovation in planning,聽 design and building techniques and materials;
鈥 new and more imaginative approach to preparing service people for a career, through to re-settlement, in partnership with the private sector and taking greater account of aspirations for home ownership and stability for service people鈥檚 families.
Dr Gearson added: 鈥淭he HERO Review 鈥� and Morgan Sindall Group plc鈥檚 response to it 鈥� are intended to be important steps forward in developing fresh approaches to how the defence estate is managed in an increasingly challenging economic climate.
鈥淭he effective operation and management of the huge assets held within the defence estate directly impacts on the retention, well-being and future prospects of many service personnel. As the activities of the defence estate become more commercially aware and flexible there will be associated positive benefits for those in our armed forces now and in the future.鈥�
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