The Times has criticised Help for Heroes and the Ministry of Defence for allowing the cost of building recovery centres to spiral and creating more capacity than is needed.

A front-page headline on today’s newspaper claimed: "Millions spent on Help for Heroes centres with empty beds". The newspaper bases its claims on interviews with people who had been involved in the project and data it has obtained under Freedom of Information requests.

In a leader article the Times said: “The allegations that millions of pounds have been spent by the Ministry of Defence and its charity partners on ambitious projects on a questionable scale is troubling.”

This morning a Help for Heroes spokeswoman told Civil Society News that the Times report contains “inaccuracies” and the charity will publish an open letter later today addressing the allegations.

Allegations

The newspaper said the project to build a network of recovery centres was an “ambitious project where costs grew and decisions to spend charity and tax money were made without sufficient analysis of what was needed”.

It claims that costs rose from £70m over four years to almost £350m over ten years. But on average, “only about half of the bedrooms at the two largest facilities, built by Help for Heroes, were used by serving personnel between August 2013 and January this year”.

The Times said that data released via Freedom of Information requests showed that the occupancy rates for the two largest centres were 44 per cent and 53 per cent. However this data does not include visits by families or veterans or attendance at daytime events.

According to the Times the army wanted the centres to be based within garrison locations and used just by serving personnel, but Help for Heroes wanted them to be available to veterans. And because Help for Heroes was funding the project Bryn Parry, its founder and chief executive, was “in a position of strength and was able to influence policy on recovery”.

Lieutenant-colonel Jonathan Sutton, who was running the programme for the army in 2010, told the Times that: “There was no shared vision of what we were trying to do.”

Since 2007 the charity has raised £185m in voluntary income. It has spent £20m on renovating Tedworth House in Wiltshire, £10m to build Phoenix House in Catterick, £6.5m on Chavasse VC House in Colchester and £23m on a recovery centre in Plymouth with the Royal Navy.

Help for Heroes also makes grants to other charities and individuals.

Response

Help for Heroes told the Times that in June and July 70 per cent of rooms available at personal recovery centres were being used.

Later today Help for Heroes will publish an open letter signed by Parry and its president General the Lord Dannatt. 

An army spokesman said: “There was a shared vision to meet the challenges of Iraq and especially Afghanistan. We believe what we have delivered is a significant achievement in an incredibly short period of time, which meets an enduring need and provides infinitely better support than was available previously.

“Inevitably in an unprecedented project of this complexity, aspects of implementation across units within the army have had to be adjusted – and greater numbers of wounded, injured and sick personnel are now using the PRCs during their recovery, alongside veterans who receive ongoing support from our charity partners.”

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: “Not everyone that benefits stays overnight so occupancy rates are not a true reflection of usage or success. Courses run at the centres are very well attended and we continually look at recovery provision to ensure it provides the most appropriate services.”

A Charity Commission spokesman said it was "aware" of the allegations. 

"We are currently assessing the issues to decide whether there is a regulatory role for the Commission. The charity has been in contact with us today concerning the allegations," the Commission said.