§ Lieut.-Colonel Macnamaraasked the Secretary of State for War (1) whether he is aware that officers of a unit, of which private information has been given, have been issued with one poker, one shovel and an inventory board per room, there being often more than one officer per room, and because of this issue the officers' field allowance which, in the case of subalterns, is 2s. a day, has been withdrawn; and whether he will take prompt steps to stop this reduction of about £3 a month from their pay in view of the difficulty subaltern officers have in budgeting when the margin of their pay is so small;
64W(2) whether he will reconsider the decision which has resulted in the withdrawal of field allowance from officers in this country, in view of the fact that the withdrawal of this small tax-free allowance has come as a hardship to junior officers, particularly married ones?
§ Captain MargessonThere has been no decision to withdraw field allowance from officers in this country who are entitled to it under the regulations. The qualifying condition for field allowance is that an officer occupies accommodation not equipped in excess of the scale laid down for officers' tents in standing camps. In effect, if any articles at all are provided, the regulations do not allow the issue of field allowance. It is recognised that anomalies arise in connection with the issue of the allowance. Indeed, as the allowance was primarily intended to meet peace-time conditions, its issue at all in time of war is to a large extent an anomaly. But repeated examinations of the question have suggested that any attempt to remove existing anomalies might result in further anomalies or in depriving many officers of the whole or part of the allowance which they now receive. I have, however, called for a report on the particular case to which my hon. and gallant Friend refers and will communicate with him as soon as possible.