Ministry of Defence
Main Building
Whitehall
London SW1A 2HB
United Kingdom
E-mail:
People-Sec-
Ref: FOI2019/05407
xxxxxxxxxx@xxx.xxx.xx
Ref: FOI2021/12649
Ms Alison Hayes
request-800912-
xxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
23 November 2021
Dear Ms Hayes,
Thank you for your email of 19 October 2021 requesting the following information:
“Dear British Army,
I am urgently looking to understand (prior to 01/11/21):
1. How many unmarried officers with joint custody of children and who are currently
residing in surplus quarters have been evicted due to married personnel demand over the
past 5 years?
2. What accommodation is a single Major with 50% joint custody of a 5 and 6 year old
entitled to during the periods he has custody?
3. Can all jobs in the British Army be considered for Flexible Service at any point?
4. Can you remain on a FS for 10+ years?
5. If you are warned for an operational tour, can you apply for Restricted Separation to
mitigate deployment.
6. How many officers were sent on directed postings in the last 5 years?”
I am treating your correspondence as a request for information under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 (FOIA). A search for the requested information has now been
conducted and I can confirm the Ministry of Defence (MOD) holds some of the information
in your request.
In answer to question 1, we can confirm that the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO)
has not issued any notices to quit to surplus applicants for this reason.
In answer to question 2, the starting point for determining accommodation entitlement is
the Personal Status Category (PSC) of a Service Person (SP), the definitions of which are
covered in Joint Service Publication 752 - Tri Service Regulations and Allowances
(02.0203) which is available on the gov.uk website. Unit HR are responsible for
determining an individual’s PSC in accordance with that policy. More information can be
found here
: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/jsp-752-tri-service-regulations-for-
expenses-and-allowances. It is likely that a person in the position described in your
question would be classed as PSC 2, 3 or 4.
SP with a PSC of 2 would usually be entitled to Service Families Accommodation at their
duty unit, subject to the entitlement criteria covered in Para 0301 of Joint Service
Publication 464 - Tri Service Accommodation Regulations Volume 1 Part 1 which is also
accessible on the gov.uk website
: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/jsp-464-tri-
service-accommodation-regulations-tsars. Entitled officers are allocated Service Families
Accommodation of Types I-V, details of which are covered in Annex A to Chapter 3 of
Joint Service Publication 464 - Tri Service Accommodation Regulations Volume 1 Part 2.
Personnel with a PSC of 3, 4 or 5 are not entitled to occupy Service Families
Accommodation but are entitled to occupy Single Living Accommodation at their duty unit.
However, all personnel are eligible to apply to occupy surplus Service Families
Accommodation at a location of their choice, subject to availability. This is covered in
Chapter 9 of Joint Service Publication 464 - Tri Service Accommodation Regulations
Volume 1 Part 1.
In answer to question 3, eligibility is not constrained by any role and any application can be
considered on its merits. However, to be eligible, SP must have completed Phase 1 and
Phase 2 training plus any additional period of service prescribed by the owning Service, as
set out in single Service policy (in this case Army policy in AGAI 44). Outside these
limitations, any Regular SP can apply for Flexible Service (FS) and applications must be
considered. However, there is no automatic right for applications to be approved; they
remain subject to the needs of the service. For example, maintaining operational capability
is paramount and is central to the decision-making process for FS applications.
In answer to question 4, FS is time-limited to balance Service and individual needs. Each
FS arrangement cannot endure for more than three years or less than three months. It
cannot extend past the end date of the current assignment and cannot be taken for longer
than four years in a 12-year rolling period.
In answer to question 5, when SP are warned or under notice for operations, an
application for FS (restricted separation) may still be made but such an application is
outside the eligibility criteria and normally will not be approved. Under exceptional
circumstances a Commanding Officer may make a recommendation, with suitable
justifications, where the eligibility criteria have not been met.
In answer to question 6, please see below table. Of note, the figures provided are single
Service estimates based on data which is not gathered for statistical purposes or subject
to the same level of scrutiny as Official Statistics produced by Defence Statistics. The
figures provided may therefore be subject to data quality issues affecting their accuracy.
The table below covers all officer ranks (Officer Cadet to Chief of the Defence Staff) and
covers Regular and Reserve personnel.
2015/16
2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21
2021/22 to
Oct 2021
Called Out
17
22
9
29
33
235
9
Reservist
Regular
244
135
144
133
125
136
123
If you are not satisfied with this response or you wish to complain about any aspect of the
handling of your request, then you should contact us in the first instance at the address
above. If informal resolution is not possible and you are still dissatisfied then you may
apply for an independent internal review by contacting the Information Rights Compliance
team, Ground Floor, MOD Main Building, Whitehall, SW1A 2HB (e-mail
CIO-FOI-
xx@xxx.xxx.xx). Please note that any request for an internal review must be made within
40 working days of the date on which the attempt to reach informal resolution has come to
an end.
If you remain dissatisfied following an internal review, you may take your complaint to the
Information Commissioner under the provisions of Section 50 of the Freedom of
Information Act. Please note that the Information Commissioner will not normally
investigate your case until the MOD internal review process has been completed. Further
details of the role and powers of the Information Commissioner can be found on the
Commissioner's website
, http://www.ico.org.uk. Yours sincerely,
Defence People Secretariat
