§ Mr. Gregor Mackenzieasked the Minister of State for Defence if he has made an assessment of the operation of military salaries; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. LambtonThe new pay system has been given a favourable reception by Service men generally, though the full effects will not be felt until 1st April, 1971, when single men will receive the balance of the increase designed to give them full parity with the military salary paid to their married colleagues.
There have been no unforeseen or insurmountable problems in operating the new pay system. Such radical changes in the concept of pay naturally caused some administrative difficulties. These are being reviewed to see how they can be alleviated. In view of the speed with which the new system was introduced and the vast amount of detailed work involved in drawing up new procedures and rules, the changeover to the military salary was made remarkably smoothly.