Captain BALFOURasked the Under-Secretary of State for Air whether he is aware that the subsistence allowance for a Royal Air Force officer below the rank 1410W of group captain, away from his station for over nine hours, is reduced from 11s. 6d., less ration allowance, to 8s. under the proposed revised scale; and if, in view of the fact that there is no relative fall in the cost of living to compensate for this reduction, the Air Ministry will consider the matter before enforcing the new rates?
§ Mr. MONTAGUEThe answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative, and to the second in the negative. As I stated in my reply of 12th February, these changes in subsistence allowance rates are part of a general revision of allowances and of travelling concessions, and one particular item in that revision cannot fairly be picked out and considered without relation to the general effect, which is advantageous to officers.