THE change in housing plans by the Ministry of Defence is almost certainly dictated by finances.

Defence chiefs must be aware that the standard of housing for personnel based at RAF Brize Norton is a tender subject, given its history.

Several years ago, the squalid conditions for personnel and their families were rightly condemned.

It was no way to treat those in the service of their country.

Now the MoD has downgraded its plan to demolish hundreds of homes and build about 780 new ones.

Now it is likely to build 200 and refurbish hundreds of others originally condemned for the bulldozer after reviewing the original scheme.

Brize is undergoing a large expansion in personnel and the public purse is not what it once was.

But the MoD must ensure the refurbishment of these homes is done to a high standard.

A lick of paint and a few bodged repairs would show it had learned nothing from the previous scandal.

Life on the frontline is never going to be idyllic.

But our service men and women and their families should enjoy some relative comfort back home.