§ Mr. Bakerasked the Secretary of State for Defence whether he will list the groups of public sector employees in whose pay settlements his Department is involved; whether those settlements are at national or local level; which of those settlements are usually influenced by the findings of the Pay Research Unit, and how; and what was the percentage increase in the earnings of each group in 1974, 1975 and 1976.
§ 2. Dr. Gilbert1.The Armed Forces—Recommendations are made to the Prime Minister by the independent Armed Forces Pay Review Body. Its recommendations are normally made against 609W the background of evidence of pay levels outside the Services for work comparable with that of Service men and Service women, based on job evaluation. The percentage increase in pay for the years 1974, 1975 and 1976 was 12.5 per cent., 29.5 per cent. and 9.6 per cent. respectively.
Royal Fleet Auxiliary Personnel—Pay of United Kingdom personnel follows settlements agreed by the National Maritime Board and are not influenced by the findings of the Pay Research Unit. Pay of locally engaged personnel generally follows rates appropriate to the area of engagement. The relevant(1) percentages are:
1974–75 23 per cent. 1975–76 22.6 per cent. 1976–77 15.3(2) per cent. (1) Figures are available only for financial years. (2) The percentage for 1976–77 is substantially affected by currency exchange variations which affect the pay of locally entered ratings. The pay of civil servants employed in the Ministry of Defence is the responsibility of the Civil Service Department.