§ 36. Mr. Swinglerasked the Under-Secretary of State for Air by how much the purchasing value of the allowance to an aircraftman's wife has fallen since the allowance was last fixed.
Mr. WardThe rate of marriage allowance for a Regular aircraftman has not changed since 1948, but there have been substantial increases in pay. The rate of the qualifying allotment which an aircraft-man must make from his pay as a condition of issue of marriage allowance has also increased. For these reasons and also because it is an airman's responsibility to supplement his wife's marriage allowance and qualifying allotment where 27W it is necessary to do so, it would not be correct to assume that the purchasing power of what the wife receives has necessarily fallen proportionately to the general fall in the purchasing power of the £.