HC Deb 19 February 1946 vol 419 cc949-50
67 . Mr. Garry Allighan

asked the Secretary of State for War the amount which has been estimated, in assessing postwar pay and allowances, as the minimum sum the unmarried man would otherwise have to spend on the items of living with which he is provided free.

Mr. Bellenger

No precise estimate has been made of the "home saving" of the single man but as my hon. Friend will appreciate it will be larger than that of his married colleague.

Mr. Garry Allighan

In view of the fact that 35s. was laid down in the 1942 White Paper as representing this Service, could we not now know what the figure will be under the new arrangement?

Mr. Bellenger

I think my hon. Friend was not in the House when that figure was hotly debated and contested when it first appeared. This figure of 20s. is perhaps nearer the mark.

Mr. Garry Allighan

The question is not whether it was hotly debated or not but whether the figure in the new set-up is going to approximate the 1942 figure of 35s. rather than 20s.

Mr. Speaker

Viscount Hinchingbrooke.

Mr. Piratin

Mr. Speaker, on a point of Order. I think you have omitted Question Number 68.

Mr. Speaker

I have not overlooked it but that would have been the fourth Question put down by the hon. Member and hon. Members are only allowed three on one day.