Iraq and Afghan heroes to benefit from cheap homes scheme

Soldiers, sailors and RAF crews today became eligible to buy cheap homes across the South-East as the Government expands its "key worker" housing scheme.

Up to 10,000 armed forces servicemen and women will qualify for the project for the first time, Communities Secretary Ruth Kelly announced.

Normally associated with teachers and nurses, the initiative has been extended to cover military personnel in recognition of the dangerous roles they are playing in hotspots across the globe from Iraq to Afghanistan.

The move is the latest by ministers to reward the efforts of one of the "forgotten" public services and follows the Chancellor's decision this year to award squaddies aboveinflation pay rises.

As key workers they will be given the chance to buy a share in a new build home, while paying a subsidised rent on the remainder. Ms Kelly, accompanied by Defence Minister Derek Twigg, said that as well as those deployed abroad, a further 25,000 MoD civilian workers would qualify for help in the capital and wider South-East.

Visiting a family benefiting from a New Build Homebuy scheme in Kennington, she said: "Our Armed Forces play a vital role in public life and their local communities; this new support recognises that contribution."

Mr Twigg added: "While we provide service personnel with highquality subsidised accommodation wherever they are based, we know that for some it is not the same as owning their own home."

Ms Kelly also published a study showing that the scheme is helping up to 22,000 teachers, nurses and others to keep working in areas where they had previously been edged out by high housing prices.

The MoD personnel who qualify from today are those who have completed their basic training and work for the Army, Navy and RAF, the MoD police force and Defence Fire Service.