§ Mr. SayeedTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether an abatement was made to the salary of servicemen in each of the armed forces between 1973 and 1975; and if he will make a statement. [102079]
§ Dr. Moonie[holding answer 10 March 2003]No abatement was applied to the annual recommendations submitted to the Prime Minister by the Armed Forces Pay Review Body between 1973 and 1975, although the review body would have been obliged to observe the constraints imposed by the statutory controls on pay increases, in force between November 1972 and July 1974, as well as the subsequent guidelines of the Social Contract.
While not an abatement to service pay, in formulating its recommendations the review body would have applied an adjustment, where appropriate, to the comparator salaries used as the basis for officers' and warrant officers' pay during this period to take account of the relative benefits of the armed forces pension scheme. No similar adjustment was required to be made at that time in respect of comparator salaries for other ranks because most service personnel at this level did not complete the necessary 22 years' service then required to qualify for a pension.