§ Mr. SwayneTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence when his Department's studies examining disparities between entitlements of married personnel and those living in partnerships will be completed. [36827]
§ Mr. IngramDisparities in the entitlements of married and unmarried personnel have reduced over the years. In its 2002 report the Armed Forces Pay Review Body commented that this was not a clear-cut issue for the services and that there was concern among married personnel that offering parity of treatment to partnerships will result in scarce resources being spread more thinly. Work on a number of related aspects of conditions of service, including pensions and allowances, is likely to continue for at least some months.