Research and analysis

FAM pilot surveys - report

Published 5 November 2024

List of abbreviations

FAM Future Accommodation Model

GORS Government Operational Research Service

GSR Government Social Research

LTRE Long Term Established Relationships

MOD Ministry of Defence

SP Service personnel

SFA Service Families Accommodation

1. Introduction

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) provides Service personnel (SP) and their families in the UK Armed Forces with subsidised accommodation and support to aid workforce mobility, operational readiness, and capability. To find out more about the Defence Accommodation Policy visit the MOD Tri-Service Accommodation Regulations (Joint Service Publication 464).

The Future Accommodation Model (FAM) Programme was created by the MOD in response to the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review which stated ‘[the MOD] will make a new accommodation offer to help more Service personnel live in private accommodation and meet their aspirations for home ownership’. 

The FAM Programme explored options to improve and widen the accommodation offer to Service personnel (SP) to better reflect the requirements of a modern Armed Forces and wider society. These included:

• Allocating Service Families Accommodation (SFA) based on need, not rank.

• Providing allowances for home ownership.

• Giving entitlement to SFA for those SP in Long Term Established Relationships (LTR(E)).

• Giving entitlement to SFA for those SP who have their child/ren for over 80 nights a year.

• Providing the option for SP and families to choose the Private Rental Sector rather than SFA and receive an allowance towards the rental costs.

The FAM Programme trialled these new policy options at three military bases in the UK. The FAM pilot began in 2019 at HMNB Clyde (Faslane), followed by Aldershot Garrison and RAF Wittering in 2020. The FAM Pilot ended on 31st March 2023.

The MOD conducted three surveys (in 2019, 2021 and 2022) with SP at the FAM Pilot sites to understand their satisfaction with the FAM pilot. All SP at the FAM Pilot sites were invited to participate. Respondents were asked different questions depending on whether they were currently living in accommodation as part of the FAM Pilot or not. To be living in accommodation as part of the FAM pilot SP had to have completed an Accommodation Preference Form (APF) and/or be in receipt of a Core Payment if they owned their own home.

There are no other data sources that collect the same information. Qualitative research was undertaken with Service personnel at the FAM Pilot sites during the FAM Pilot.

The findings from the FAM Pilot, including the results from these surveys, have been used to inform the Modernised Accommodation Offer.

2. Methodology

The following stages were undertaken in the production of the FAM Pilot surveys.

Questionnaire design

The questionnaire was designed by the MOD Analysts and members of the FAM Stakeholder Working Group (internal stakeholders from MOD, Defence Infrastructure Organisation and Front Line Commands). Demographic questions were removed in the 2021 and 2022 surveys to reduce respondent burden.

Sample design

All Service personnel (regular and reserves) at the FAM Pilot sites were invited to participate in the survey.

The surveys were anonymous. SP were not asked to provide their Service Number, so their response could not be directly linked to them. Response to the FAM Pilot surveys was voluntary. Participant information was provided within the questionnaires to encourage informed consent. It was estimated to take about 10 minutes for respondents to complete.

Survey distribution and communications

The FAM Pilot Surveys were distributed as an online survey. SP who were based at an eligible FAM Pilot site unit were directly emailed a link to the survey. In 2022, Service personnel were contacted via email with a link imbedded in a SWAY.

FAM Cells (support team for Service personnel at the FAM Pilot sites) included a link to the survey in their email signature. The Accommodation Team also publicised the survey via routine orders at the FAM Pilot sites. It is recognised that not all SP may have regular access to email and may not have been able to respond within the data collection period.

Each survey was open for approximately 4 to 6 weeks.

Data input

All staff involved in the FAM Strategic Surveys report production process adhere to the MOD and Civil Service data protection regulations. All data is stored, accessed, and analysed using the MOD’s secure IT system. No record-level data is provided to anyone not directly involved with the analysis, unless covered by a Data Access Agreement. No person from any respondent’s Chain of Command can access individual level data.

Data cleaning

All responses were downloaded from the survey platform. Manual checks were made by analysts to ensure data had been downloaded correctly. Any invalid responses were removed and did not contribute to the response rate. A response was considered invalid if it was completely blank or did not contain a response to the following questions: ‘in which Service do you serve?’ and ‘what is your current Rank?’ A response was also invalid if none of the questions about accommodation had been answered and for the 2019 survey, if none of the questions about satisfaction with accommodation had been answered.

Weighting responses

Responses are weighted by rank (Officers and Other Ranks) and FAM pilot site. This accounts for bias caused by differing levels of response. Population data for the units eligible to take part in the FAM pilot at each site was taken from the Joint Personnel Administration (JPA) system.

As the survey did not achieve 100% response rates there is always the risk that those who returned questionnaires have differing views from those who did not. We assume that all non-response is Missing at Random (MAR) within each weighting class. This means we have assumed that those people who did not return their questionnaires do not differ from those who did respond in their perceptions and attitudes.

Response rates tend to be lower for Other Ranks, compared to Officers. This may be due to distribution issues, as Officers tend to have easier access to MOD IT to access the survey, despite the survey being accessible from any device.

Production of results

Tables of results were produced using Microsoft Excel by MOD Analysts. The data tables and the content of the narrative report were quality assured by members of the Government Operational Research Service (GORS) and Government Social Research (GSR) profession.

3. Findings

2019 Baseline Survey – key findings

• Before the introduction of the FAM Pilot, Service personnel were mostly satisfied with the number of accommodation routes available to them at HMNB Clyde (57%) and Aldershot Garrison (58%) but there was mixed satisfaction at RAF Wittering (49%). 

• Most SP agreed their current accommodation met their personal housing requirements (62% Aldershot Garrison, 64% HMNB Clyde, 60% RAF Wittering)

• SP’s current accommodation route before the FAM Pilot had a low impact on their intention to leave the Armed Forces at HMNB Clyde (14%) and Aldershot Garrison (17%). However, at RAF Wittering, almost a third (28%) said their current RWA accommodation route increased their intention to leave the Armed Forces. 50% of SP said their accommodation had no effect on their intention to stay or leave the Armed Forces.

• Across all the Services, 44% of SP would prefer to live in property they own. 

2021 Survey – key findings

FAM Pilot Accommodation

• 83% of SP on the FAM Pilot agreed their FAM accommodation met their personal housing requirements.

• The top ranked reason for choosing their FAM Pilot accommodation route was proximity to work (49%), followed by geographic stability for family (15%).​

• 77% of respondents on the FAM Pilot agreed that their housing had a positive impact on the ability to meet the requirements of their job, compared to 69% in non-FAM accommodation.

• 79% respondents on the FAM Pilot would recommend it to other colleagues, compared to 5% who would not.

• 54% respondents on the FAM Pilot said their accommodation increased their intention to stay compared to 39% in non-FAM accommodation. Likewise, only 6% on the FAM Pilot said accommodation increased their intention to leave, compared to 16% in non-FAM.

​

Non-FAM Pilot Accommodation

• 82% of SP not on the FAM Pilot reported currently living in their preferred accommodation. ​

• 71% of SP not on the FAM Pilot agreed their accommodation met their personal housing requirements.

• Of respondents not on the FAM Pilot who reported not living in their preferred accommodation, 50% said their preferred accommodation was their own property, and 31% chose SFA. Private rental options only accounted for only 7%. ​

• The top reason given by 31% of these respondents as their reason for choosing their preferred accommodation was proximity to work, followed by size of property (19%), and geographical stability for family (15%).

• The most cited reasons from respondents in non-FAM accommodation for not taking up the FAM Pilot offer were not being eligible (18%) and being unclear on FAM options (17%). Similarly, being a homeowner not eligible for core payment accounted for a further 14%. Frequently cited reasons other than eligibility or being unclear were the FAM Pilot increasing the costs of accommodation (9%) and preferring to live in a military community (9%).  

2022 Survey – key findings

FAM Pilot Accommodation

• 78% of SP agreed their FAM Pilot accommodation met their personal housing requirements.

• The top ranked reason for choosing their FAM Pilot accommodation route was proximity to work (38%), followed by geographic stability for family (16%). ​

• 75% of respondents on FAM agreed that their housing had a positive impact on the ability to meet the requirements of their job, compared to 67% in non-FAM accommodation.

• 79% respondents on the FAM Pilot would recommend it to other colleagues, compared to 6% who would not.

• 47% respondents on the FAM Pilot said their accommodation it increased their intention to stay in the Armed Forces compared to 32% in non-FAM accommodation. Likewise, only 6% on the FAM Pilot said accommodation increased their intention to leave, compared to 17% in non-FAM accommodation.

Non-FAM Pilot Accommodation

• 83% of SP not on the FAM Pilot reported currently living in their preferred accommodation. ​

• 71% of SP not on the FAM Pilot agreed their accommodation met their personal housing requirements.

• Of respondents not on the FAM Pilot who reported not living in their preferred accommodation, 46% said their preferred accommodation was their own property, and 30% chose SFA. Private rental options only accounted for only 13%. ​

• The top reason for choosing their preferred accommodation for respondents who were not on the FAM Pilot was proximity to work (34%), followed by, followed by size of property (14%), and affordability chosen by 12% of respondents.

• The most cited reasons from respondents in non-FAM accommodation for not taking up the FAM Pilot offer were being unclear on FAM options (16%) and being a homeowner not eligible for core payment accounted (14%).