14. Captain COOTEasked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that a number of Royal Air Force officers holding temporary, as distinct both from permanent or short-service, commissions are being retained as indispensable upon the Inter-Allied Aeronautical Commission of Control to Germany owing to their technical or linguistic attainments; that these officers are receiving only the old rates of pay, which means, in the case of captains, 15s. 6d. per day as against 29s. (new rate, and in the case of lieutenants, 11s. 6d. per day as against 25s.; and, in view of the fact that officers of other arms of the service similarly retained are drawing the new rates, whether he will take steps to extend them to Royal Air Force officers?
§ Mr. CHURCHILLThe facts are as stated in the first and second parts of the question, except that the difference between the old and the new rates is actually smaller than my hon. and gallant Friend suggests. The matter has recently been under review, and I am able to say that a decision has been reached which will give relief to the officers concerned. The details are not yet worked out, but an announcement will shortly be made.
15. Captain COOTEasked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that the rates of subsistence allowance paid by the German Government to officers of the Inter-Allied Commission of Control were fixed when the rate of exchange was about 80 marks to the £; that the exchange has now fallen to over 200 marks to the £; and that in consequence the allowances are quite inadequate; and whether he can secure a revision of the rates so that the German Government should pay these officers a sum sufficient to cover their living expenses?
§ The FINANCIAL SECRETARY to the WAR OFFICE (Sir A. Williamson)These allowances are to meet local expenditure and are fixed in local currency, not in sterling. They do not, therefore, depend directly upon the mark exchange. They are revised from time to time in accordance with the cost of living in Germany, and such a revision is now in progress.
Captain COOTEIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that with the present rate of exchange the amount of subsistence allowance is totally inadequate?
§ Sir A. WILLIAMSONNo doubt that is a fact to be taken into account.
18. Mr. COWANasked the Secretary of State for War whether a general routine Order of the British Expeditionary Force laid down a special allowance of nine francs per day for officers stationed at Antwerp; whether such Order has been cancelled and, if so, on what date; whether such cancellation has any retrospective effect; whether the base commandant at Antwerp has authority to cancel or vary such Order; if not, will he take steps to annul a distinction made by the base commandant between officers allowed to live in the town and those compelled to live in the embarkation camp, seeing that the expenses of living were approximately the same in both cases, while officers living in town were much better housed and lived generally under much more comfortable conditions; whether, among the officers quartered in the said camp, certain Royal Army Service Corps officers have obtained payment of the special allow- 200 ance while others in identical circumstances have been hitherto refused payment; and, if so, will he take steps to ensure that the latter class receive proper consideration, regard being had to the depreciation of the franc since the allowance accrued?
§ Sir A. WILLIAMSONAs I informed the hon. Member for Dundee on Thursday last, I am making inquiries into this matter.
§ 24. Captain LOSEBYasked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that, previous to the publication of Army Order 324 of 1919, an officer of the quartermaster class who had been in receipt of the rate of pay for 20 years' commissioned service under Article 238 of the Royal Warrant had to forgo this rate and draw the rate for 15 years' commissioned service, owing to the wording in Table II of the Army Order in question being altered from 20 years' commissioned service to when specially promoted lieutenant-colonel; and, if so, whether, in view of the wording of the last paragraph of Article 241 of the Royal Warrant, which has since been cancelled by Army Order 90, dated 12th March, 1920, it was the intention to deprive an officer of this class from drawing a rate of pay which had been previously awarded him for service in the field during the War?
§ Sir A. WILLIAMSONThe effect of Army Order 324 upon a quartermaster of 15 years' actual service is that he draws a rate of pay of 30s. a day. There is no higher rate for length of service. On the old scale, if he had been specially advanced to the rate for 20 years' service in recognition of service in the field, he drew 15s. The hon. and gallant Member will see that there is no question of depriving such an officer of anything.
Lieut.-Colonel J. WARDIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that this Order sometimes results in a reduction of pay, and I can give him particulars of a case?
§ Sir A. WILLIAMSONIf the hon. and gallant Gentleman will give me the particulars I will have inquiry made.