New accommodation spaces opened at Catterick
13 Mar 06
The new single living accommodation complex at Vimy Barracks, Catterick was opened today, Monday 13 March 06, by Defence Minister Don Touhig MP. The complex will accommodate nearly 540 single Service personnel, in three buildings, in greatly improved living conditions.
Don Touhig Under Secretary of State for Defence visits the Infantry Training Centre to open the new Single Living Accommodation and to see some of the recruits in training. Here he unveils a commemorative stone.
Picture: Chris Barker, Army Press Office, York
This is the latest accommodation delivered under the Ministry of Defence’s £1B Project Single Living Accommodation Modernisation (SLAM) initiative, which aims to deliver around 20,000 bed spaces by 2013.
Mr Touhig said:
"This new complex will offer the modern living conditions our Service Personnel deserve. This demonstrates that we value our servicemen and women which in turn has a positive impact on recruitment and retention and enhances their operational effectiveness.
"The new accommodation represents another major achievement for our Single Living Accommodation Modernisation Project – SLAM - which, along with other projects, have delivered some 10,000 new bed spaces in the last 3 years."
"This new complex will offer the modern living conditions our Service Personnel deserve."
Don Touhig
Project SLAM is being delivered by Debut Services, a consortium comprising of Bovis Lend Lease and Babcock Support Services Ltd. Project SLAM runs in parallel to a number of other initiatives to modernise Service single living accommodation worldwide.
In March 2001 The Secretary of State for Defence announced an additional £1Bn of new funding over the next 10 years for raising the standard of Single Living Accommodation (SLA). The requirement is being delivered in part by Project SLAM (Single Living Accommodation Modernisation). The overall value of the SLAM programme (assuming Phase 2 is approved) will exceed £1Bn.
Running in parallel to SLAM and working to comparable timescales are a number of separate and existing projects to modernise single living accommodation; in Scotland partially through the Regional Prime Contract, Project CHALLENGER in Northern Ireland, PUMA in Germany and separate projects for Gibraltar and Cyprus.
Don Touhig Under Secretary of State for Defence chats to Private Michael Reynolds, from Birmingham, who is joining the Staffords. Picture: Chris Barker, Army Press Office, York
Picture: Chris Barker, Army Press Office, York
Support for veterans
While in the north of England Mr Touhig also visited Newcastle where he launched a new publicity campaign to raise awareness of the support and services on offer to Armed Forces veterans. The campaign will promote the Veterans Agency freephone helpline 0800 169 2277, established to advise Veterans on a wide range of issues.
He said:
"We ask a great deal from our Armed Forces and so it is essential they know where to go for support after leaving the military. The Veterans Agency is there to help any former member of the Services, young or old, and they do a fantastic job. For advice on anything, from how to claim benefits to help finding a job, call 0800 169 2277.
"This campaign is being launched to ensure we reach as many Veterans as possible with this important message. I have specifically chosen Newcastle as the starting point because I know it has a strong Veterans’ community, but we will soon be rolling out this campaign across the country."
Under Secretary of State Don Touhig in Newcastle to launch the campaign
Paul Kingham, Chairman of the North East War Pension Committee, added:
"I welcome this pilot advertising campaign on Tyneside. The region is a traditional recruiting ground for the Armed Forces and many veterans naturally return to the region when they leave the Services.
"The Helpline is designed to help them and their families with advice and guidance on any issue. Calls are free and it provides access to a wealth of support from both Government and Tyneside’s ex-Service organisations. The trouble is many veterans don’t know it exists. Hopefully, the campaign will help ensure that those who need help get it."
