§ Mr. Gowasked the Secretary of State for Defence what is the amount of local overseas allowance paid at present to members of Her Majesty's Forces serving in BAOR; and to what extent in real terms members of Her Majesty's Forces serving in Northern Ireland are worse off in terms of allowances than those serving in BAOR.
§ Mr. Robert C. BrownLocal overseas allowance is intended to meet the essential cost of living in an overseas theatre such as Germany as compared with living in the United Kingdom. Because Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom it follows that those serving there should be neither better nor worse off than those serving in Germany. The comparison will, of course, be affected by changes in relative living costs after LOA rates have been reviewed, and this is one of the reasons why LOA for each overseas theatre is reviewed triennially. I am sending the hon. Member a copy of the current LOA rates for the main British Forces Area in Germany.
§ Mr. Gowasked the Secretary of State for Defence what would be the amount of the additional daily payment to members of Her Majesty's Forces serving in Northern Ireland if it were to have the same value as 50p; and what is the amount paid with effect from 1st April 1974 and unchanged since that date.
§ Mr. Robert C. BrownNorthern Ireland pay was introduced with effect from 1st April 1974 at the rate of 50p per day, and has remained at that level since. Since April 1974 the retail price index has risen by 41.9 per cent.; 71p is, therefore, equivalent in purchasing power to 50p at the earlier date.