Empty homes revelations 'are incredible'

The BBC has revealed that over 8,000 empty homes in the UK are currently being held by the Ministry of Defence.

Such a policy, in place in order to cope with troop movements, costs the taxpayer almost £30 million a year, the BBC has said.
However, despite the government defending its policy the Liberal Democrats have said that the findings are a damning indictment of public sector wastefulness.

"More than a fifth are empty at any one time. That seems extraordinarily high," said Nick Harvey, Liberal Democrat defence spokesman.

"One accepts some will be empty while they're organising people to come and go, but it's an incredible percentage that a private sector operator could never sustain," Mr Harvey added.

The study comes as Leeds City Council was adjudged to be the best in the country at bringing empty homes back to use, and Halifax reveals that 27 per cent of Britons have been affected by empty homes in their lifetimes.

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