diff --git a/roles/backup_client/tasks/main.yml b/roles/backup_client/tasks/main.yml
index 16d7eab69de7704def9dc7dfb524945bbdd5b94d..b01cff9512f01a6dc81c4e2efc31ceeca0b0b4e9 100644
--- a/roles/backup_client/tasks/main.yml
+++ b/roles/backup_client/tasks/main.yml
@@ -7,11 +7,10 @@
 
 - name: Install backup software
   apt:
-    name: "{{ item }}"
+    name:
+      - duplicity
+      - duply
     state: present
-  with_items:
-    - duplicity
-    - duply
 
 - name: Set-up Duply directories
   file:
diff --git a/roles/backup_server/tasks/main.yml b/roles/backup_server/tasks/main.yml
index e08afab77053e4adcd749a457d85daaacf51fae6..a70597634f10f91d33c87398e0c185463532526a 100644
--- a/roles/backup_server/tasks/main.yml
+++ b/roles/backup_server/tasks/main.yml
@@ -2,11 +2,10 @@
 
 - name: Install backup software
   apt:
-    name: "{{ item }}"
+    name:
+      - duplicity
+      - duply
     state: present
-  with_items:
-    - duplicity
-    - duply
 
 - name: Create directory for storing backups
   file:
diff --git a/roles/common/tasks/main.yml b/roles/common/tasks/main.yml
index dad6c9b9620ae4311675bbe2d5c709b925778f32..827e9db9849787954a352fdc9fb5073eb55f334d 100644
--- a/roles/common/tasks/main.yml
+++ b/roles/common/tasks/main.yml
@@ -99,9 +99,8 @@
 
 - name: Install common packages
   apt:
-    name: "{{ item }}"
+    name: "{{ common_packages }}"
     state: "present"
-  with_items: "{{ common_packages }}"
 
 - name: Set-up MariaDB mysql_config symbolic link for compatibility (workaround for Debian bug 766996)
   file:
diff --git a/roles/database_server/tasks/main.yml b/roles/database_server/tasks/main.yml
index 68148ed5b3fbb496e0a4401baa1f8d067df7b3d2..b02450c93d65f09c79f665e33bca42ccacd5afc7 100644
--- a/roles/database_server/tasks/main.yml
+++ b/roles/database_server/tasks/main.yml
@@ -2,12 +2,11 @@
 
 - name: Install MariaDB
   apt:
-    name: "{{ item }}"
+    name:
+      - mariadb-client
+      - mariadb-server
+      - python-mysqldb
     state: present
-  with_items:
-    - mariadb-client
-    - mariadb-server
-    - python-mysqldb
 
 - name: Enable MariaDB service on boot (workaround for systemctl broken handling of SysV)
   command: rcconf -on mysql
diff --git a/roles/mail_server/tasks/main.yml b/roles/mail_server/tasks/main.yml
index 9a2cf15d61c64de8609db80b06c759274a2d7217..44abe7ae2efc1c70a8bc99b74d646f31a79d1734 100644
--- a/roles/mail_server/tasks/main.yml
+++ b/roles/mail_server/tasks/main.yml
@@ -7,21 +7,19 @@
 
 - name: Install Dovecot packages
   apt:
-    name: "{{ item }}"
+    name:
+      - dovecot-imapd
+      - dovecot-ldap
+      - dovecot-sieve
+      - dovecot-managesieved
     state: present
-  with_items:
-    - dovecot-imapd
-    - dovecot-ldap
-    - dovecot-sieve
-    - dovecot-managesieved
 
 - name: Install Postfix packages
   apt:
-    name: "{{ item }}"
+    name:
+      - postfix
+      - postfix-ldap
     state: present
-  with_items:
-    - postfix
-    - postfix-ldap
 
 - name: Purge Exim configuration
   apt:
diff --git a/roles/php_website/tasks/main.yml b/roles/php_website/tasks/main.yml
index 6cad6ddea19eb948e1987e4a379490f299e436d4..e8ffe299b44f223ce81170c68198106488f03f62 100644
--- a/roles/php_website/tasks/main.yml
+++ b/roles/php_website/tasks/main.yml
@@ -59,9 +59,8 @@
 
 - name: Install extra packages for website
   apt:
-    name: "{{ item }}"
+    name: "{{ packages }}"
     state: present
-  with_items: "{{ packages }}"
 
 - name: Set-up MariaDB mysql_config symbolic link for compatibility on Jessie (workaround for Debian bug 766996)
   file:
diff --git a/roles/web_server/tasks/main.yml b/roles/web_server/tasks/main.yml
index 3340ac3eb90d52cc4f8cd1d482128a8472b0c227..5ab1d06975eb75fbb6463bb7c5d7de19782f72bf 100644
--- a/roles/web_server/tasks/main.yml
+++ b/roles/web_server/tasks/main.yml
@@ -129,13 +129,12 @@
 
 - name: Install base packages for Python web applications
   apt:
-    name: "{{ item }}"
+    name:
+      - python-setuptools
+      - python3-setuptools
+      - virtualenv
+      - virtualenvwrapper
     state: present
-  with_items:
-    - python-setuptools
-    - python3-setuptools
-    - virtualenv
-    - virtualenvwrapper
 
 - name: Create directories for storing per-site socket files
   file:
@@ -161,10 +160,8 @@
 
 - name: Install base packages for PHP web applications
   apt:
-    name: "{{ item }}"
+    name: "{{ php_fpm_package_name }}"
     state: present
-  with_items:
-    - "{{ php_fpm_package_name }}"
 
 - name: Create directory for storing PHP-FPM service configuration overrides
   file:
diff --git a/roles/wsgi_website/tasks/main.yml b/roles/wsgi_website/tasks/main.yml
index 9835d8f8d17ac8dccb97866a6f7dd46a22e0b759..d0f06cd5b16b2093bdb18358adbfc2ec9efb134d 100644
--- a/roles/wsgi_website/tasks/main.yml
+++ b/roles/wsgi_website/tasks/main.yml
@@ -75,9 +75,8 @@
 
 - name: Install extra packages for website
   apt:
-    name: "{{ item }}"
+    name: "{{ packages }}"
     state: present
-  with_items: "{{ packages }}"
   register: install_extra_packages
   notify:
     - Restart WSGI services