War heroes say £8.5m government cash to ‘end veteran homelessness’ is a ‘drop in the ocean’

Furious military families forced to live in squalid homes with mouldy walls and leaky roofs have been offered as little as £1 in compensation. 

Thousands of forces families nationwide have been plagued by issues in recent weeks, which have left homes without water or heating during Britain’s big freeze.

Today it emerged that the private firm responsible for maintaining 49,000 had offered some families as little as £1 a day in food vouched in compensation. 

The news comes as the Government faces a fresh wave of criticism over its £8.5 million plan to tackle veteran homelessness – with ex-forces heroes today claiming the cash was ‘a drop in the ocean’ of what was needed. 

Military families have taken to Twitter in a social media storm to show the shoddy state of their accommodation

Videos shared online showed water streaming through a collapsed ceiling of one army property, huge patches of mould on walls. One person even complained that a military family had not had any heat or hot water for months. 

The tide of complaints prompted an intervention from ministers this week, with Defence Secretary Ben Wallace meeting with heads of some of the firms responsible for the shoddy accommodation. 

Pinnacle, which was handed £144 million contract in March by the Government, issued shopping vouchers in compensation to those plagued by woes – with families receiving a £1 voucher for every 24 hours without heat or hot water. 

It has since bumped this up to £20 following an outcry online. While those whose homes have become uninhabitable receive a £25 voucher for each night they’re forced to stay in a hotel.

The situation comes a year after MailOnline revealed how hundreds of serving British soldiers and their families were forced to live in disgracefully squalid homes riddled faults, mould and stained with urine. 

‘It is shameful that this government has left service personnel and their families without heating during the coldest Christmas for more than a decade, and it’s an insult to hand out vouchers worth as little as £1 instead of fixing problems promptly,’ Labour’s shadow defence secretary John Healey said in The Times.

Pinnacle faces mounting questions over the scandal after it was given a £144 million contract in March to manage Britain’s 49,000 service family homes but homes are still suffering from mould and damp

Hundreds of troops and their families are freezing without heating or hot water this month as they desperately waited for repairs in rundown military homes

In a fresh blow for the government, homeless war heroes today claimed its £8.5 million rescue fund to get veterans off of Britain’s streets and into work ‘didn’t go far enough’. 

In a lofty pledge on Wednesday, ministers vowed to finally end the shameful scourge of retired troops sleeping rough within the next 12 months. 

Kick-starting the campaign, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak met some former homeless heroes in Number 10 – as the Government unveiled its new scheme. 

The initiative, called Operation Fortitude, will enable veterans at risk of homelessness to access vital supported housing and wraparound specialist health care, education and accommodation. It will launch early next year.  

Ex-forces personnel who say they were abandoned by the nation after leaving the military have welcomed the extra cash – but said it ‘doesn’t go far enough’ to tackle the crisis. 

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, right, meets ex-homeless veterans and charity leaders in Downing Street as the Government unveiled its plan stop military heroes from sleeping rough in 2023

The Government launched its £8.5 million investment to fund 900 support accommodation units. Pictured veterans minister Johnny Mercer, right, talking to guests on Monday as Mr Sunak watches

Retired Lance Corporal Mick Dunbar, who completed tours of Bosnia and Kosovo before leaving the Army in 2002, said: ‘£8.5 million isn’t enough. There are veterans all over the country. There should be more money given.

‘These people served this country. They should be looked after. This money is a drop in the ocean.’

Speaking of the Government’s pledge to make sure no veteran is homeless by the end of 2023, the 47-year-old of Keighley, Yorkshire, added: ‘I’ll believe it when I see it. I don’t believe a damn thing up until then.’

The cash injection, announced by Veterans Minister Johnny Mercer, came after warnings from charities who said housing and support for homeless ex-servicemen were facing a crisis.   

Groups offering mental health support to traumatised Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, supported in housing at Catterick barracks, in North Yorkshire, warned they were on the brink of running out of cash more than a year ago. 

The Riverside Group, a charity that runs the Catterick housing and others nationwide, previously said there was a ‘significant risk’ of collapse in the majority of supported housing services for veterans, which could have thrown many forces heroes fighting back from addition back onto the street. 

Speaking after the Downing Street launch, retired British Army Captain Mr Mercer insisted the Government would tackle this crisis. ‘No one, not least those who have served this country, should be homeless,’ said the MP for Plymouth Moor View.

‘That’s why today we are committing £8.5 million in funding and supporting a dedicated pathway, set up in collaboration with our charity partners, so veterans can not only get the housing support they need this Christmas, but also the vital backing required to help them get on their feet again. 

Retired soldier Johnny Mercer MP said the government remains ‘steadfastly committed to ending veteran homelessness in 2023’. He is pictured in Downing Street on Wednesday 

The cash pledged by the Government will fund services for two years in more than 900 supporting housing sites in England. Pictured Mr Mercer and the PM 

A veteran who was homeless tells his story to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, right, during a meeting at Number 10 on Wednesday

‘As a government we remain steadfastly committed to ending veteran homelessness in 2023.’

Figures from between July and September showed there were 131 military veterans sleeping rough in London – five per cent of the capital’s homeless community. 

Of this, 43 were UK nationals, according to figures from the Greater London Authority. But charities estimate there could be up to 400 veterans sleeping rough every year – while a further 3,000 to 4,000 face homelessness in cars, or derelict buildings.

The cash pledged by the Government on Wednesday will fund services for two years in more than 900 supporting housing sites in England. 

A new referral scheme will sign-post veterans at risk of homelessness to housing services and specialist help.  

Mr Mercer said the cash would bring forward the Government’s target of ending rough sleeping among veterans by the end of 2024 forward by a year.  

Lee Buss-Blair, the Director of Operations for The Riverside Group, said the cash injection would ‘make a significant difference to the lives of vulnerable veterans’.

‘Not only will it support the government’s commitment to end veteran rough sleeping, but it will also provide organisations the resources to support veterans into work,’ he said.   

Ex-infantryman Liam Cary is among those who have spent their time after leaving the military on the streets of sofa surfing. 

Liam Cary was 16 when he joined the Army but after leaving, he was left homeless for years. Liam is pictured passing out of his basic training 

The 27-year-old, who has PTSD and is now living in supported military housing in Walkden, Greater Manchester, said: ‘This will be a lifeline to veterans – particularly the veterans that have been out for a while are the ones who feel forgotten about… it will save lives.’

Michael, who used to service with the Royal Corps of Transport in the Army, has been supported since April 2021 by Riverside at Hardwick House, in Middlesbrough.

Suffering from depression, he added he had spent at least two years living on the street or sofa-surfing and had turned to alcohol to cope, before his family found him a place at Hardwick. 

‘I would have been dead if I hadn’t come to Riverside,’ he said. ‘It has been brilliant. They have helped me get back on my feet. There need to be more places like this.

‘Keeping these places funded will have a brilliant effect for veterans. It will give them a new start. 

‘There are lads out there ex-squaddies that feel like they have failed and they haven’t. The Government needs to put money in. This has been a long time coming.’ 

As Christmas approaches a new, temporary support service has been launched to give homeless veterans a place to stay over the winter period. 

The scheme can be accessed via a dedicated charity helpline on 01748 833797.