§ Mr. Onslowasked the Secretary of State for Defence what assistance he has been able to give the Armed Services Pay Review Board in establishing how many (a) officers and (b) other ranks are currently in receipt of family income supplement and other benefits related to substandard pay levels.
§ Mr. MulleyAs I told the hon. Member for Tynemouth (Mr. Trotter) on 22nd536W November, evidence to the Armed Forces Pay Revied Body is given on a confidential basis. Without breaking this confidentiality I can assure the hon. Member that the AFPRB has many sources of information, including visits to units and parliamentary answers, and, through them, is certainly aware of the situation to which he refers. But I must remind him that the receipt of means-tested benefit is not necessarily a reflection on rates of pay, since eligibility depends on family size—a point which the Review Body itself made in the 1974 report—Cmnd. 5631, paragraph 37, refers.—[Vol. 939. c. 628–9.]