A rent increase for our Armed Forces tells you all you need to know about David Cameron

This week the Government announced that it would be making changes to accommodation for our service personnel and their families.

At first glance you might think that is good news because quite frankly, housing for our service personnel and their families is, at the moment, barely adequate.

But what the MoD were actually announcing, hidden under details about a new contract for maintenance, was that our armed forces will now have to pay more in rent to live in accommodation that is consistently called unsatisfactory, dilapidated and shoddy.

Those living in service family accommodation do not have the option that civilians have of terminating a lease if they believe they’re not getting the service they’re paying for. Our service men and women will have already gone through a rigorous application process before being allocated a home. And when you’re in the forces, and you know that you could be stationed anywhere in Britain, or indeed around the world, the importance of having somewhere comfortable, safe and warm that you can come home to at the end of the day becomes even more valuable.

Yet the MOD are consistently letting our armed forces down.

Almost 20% of those living in service family accommodation are dissatisfied with the quality of their home. Very often that is because the house they are allocated needs vital maintenance work or upkeep to bring it in line with what you and I would think of as acceptable living standards. Yet here the MOD falls foul of the mark again; with 27% of people dissatisfied with the way that repairs and maintenance issues are dealt with.

Our armed forces personnel are expected to be ready for action at the drop of a hat. Their job is mentally and physically demanding in a high stress environment, and includes postings round the Uk and overseas operations.

The Army Families Federation produces a quarterly report of army families’ concerns, and for the past two years one issue has been dominant: housing. So it is welcome that the Government recognises that there is a problem, and that change needs to be made, but this is not the way to do it.

This Government has said time and time again that it supports our armed forces and values the work they do, yet their policies show the opposite. This Government has given the armed forces redundancy notices , a pay cut, the bedroom tax, and now a rent increase.

It tells you all you need to know about David Cameron – he refuses toprovide additional resources to the NHS through a tax on the very highest value properties worth over £2m, he has cut taxes for millionaires, but he is prepared to charge our troops more to live with their families while they serve our country.

Our Armed Forces serve this country without question and with professionalism and dignity. We owe it to them to make sure that the place they come home to at the end of the day is reflective of their efforts.

Gemma Doyle is a Shadow Defence Minister