TAXPAYERS have funded the £2.3million refurbishment of military homes exclusively housing Afghan migrants – including those brought to Britain under a secret resettlement scheme.
An average of £2,534 per home was splashed on fixing accommodation for new arrivals into the UK in the first half of the year, while British service families continue to suffer in dilapidated conditions.
Afghan citizens flee Kabul after the Talbin returned to power in 2021[/caption]
Figures show there are 903 military homes occupied by Afghan nationals, but the Ministry of Defence admitted it did not know the total number of people living in them.
It said 239 were occupied on a ‘transitional’ basis, meaning the residents are expected to vacate them by the end of the year.
The other 664 are occupied on a ‘settled’ basis, meaning the Afghan families are expected to occupy them permanently.
The refurbishment funds – which totalled £2,288,475 – were provided by the Treasury, and have not come out of the underpowered defence budget.
Meanwhile, British families in service homes are struggling to get by and often have to wait weeks for call-outs and other repairs.
Last year, figures showed 21,000 repair appointments had been missed as many homes suffered problems with mould.
Afghans in the homes include those who helped the British Army against evil Taliban terrorists in the Middle East.
Many were resettled in the UK under the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme and the secretive Afghan Response Route, launched after a massive data breach handed the Taliban the names of those who had fought against them.
Reform UK MP Sarah Pochin said: “These properties could be used for British military families who have served our country.”
“It’s particularly concerning that £2,500 per property of taxpayers’ money is being spent on renovations, when many of our own military families often struggle to afford such improvements for their own homes.”
A review by the National Audit Office last week found that it is impossible for the MoD to calculate how much it has spent on the ARR scheme.
It is estimated to be around £850 million, with 7,355 people in the UK as a direct result of the data flop.
An MoD spokesman: “All Afghan arrivals receive briefings and information about their responsibilities and expected standards of behaviour, including signing a code of conduct charter.
“If people breach these rules it may result in their removal from accommodation. Any behaviour that contravenes UK law will be acted on by the Police.”
The MoD is no longer accepting any new leases for settled accommodation on the Defence Estate.
But new Home Secretary Shabhana Mahmood and PM Sir Keir Starmer are looking at housing asylum seekers in barracks and other unused military accommodation.
The MoD said: ‘All Afghan arrivals receive briefings and information about their responsibilities and expected standards of behaviour’[/caption]