HC Deb 21 July 1977 vol 935 c647W
Mr. Churchill

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what has been the percentage increase in the rent element of married quarter accommodation charges in each year since 1st April

Increase effective for the year commencing Type of married quarter
A B C D/WO v* IV* III*
1st April 1975 … … … 69.29 48.16 41.50 37.36 64.76 60.26 59.18
(£2.37) (£3.63) (£4.16) (£5.00) (£5.19) (£6.17) (£7.02)
1st April 1976 … … … 21.10 13.77 13.46 -0.00 12.72 12.80 12.82
(£2.87) (£4.13) (£4.72) (£4.99) (£5.85) (£6.96) (£7.92)
1st April 1977 … … … 27.53 14.04 13.56 24.85 14.19 14.22 14.14
(£3.66) (£4.71) (£5.36) (£6.23) (£6.68) (£7.95) (£9.04)
* There are no local authority houses directly comparable to these married quarters. The rental element of the charges for these quarters is established by multiplying the rental element of the Type C married quarter charge by the ratio of the appropriate total floor area to that of the Type C quarter.

The average of local authority rents for houses of similar standard, age and location on which the rental element of

Local authority houses equivalent to Service married quarter type
A B C D/WO
£ £ £ £
1st April 1975 … … 2.69 3.64 4.17 5.02
(Local authority rents at April 1974) … … (9.80%) (13.40%) (11.80%) (12.30%)
1st April 1976 … … 3.22 4.13 4.72 4.99
(Local authority rents at April 1975) … … (19.70%) (13.46%) (13.19%) (-0.60%)
1st April 1977 … … 3.94 4.71 5.36 6.23
(Local authority rents at April 1976) … … (22.36%) (14.04%) (13.56%) (24.85%)
Notes:
(1) The use of local authority rents as a basis for determining the rental element of married quarter charges was recommended by the NBPI in 1969, but, in order to avoid excessive increases in married quarter charges in the early years, the principle was not fully implemented until 1st April 1975 and even then the increase for Type A was moderated. For this reason and because the rental of married quarters derived from Local Authority rents showed substantial increases (the Review Body of Armed Forces Pay applied a standstill to the rental element of these charges in line with the provisions of Statutory Instruments Nos. 380 and 381), the percentage increases in the married quarter rental elements from 1st April 1975 are a great deal higher than the percentage increases in the corresponding local authority rents. The increase in the rental element of married quarter charges at 1st April 1975 therefore embodied increases in local authority rents over the two years to April 1974.
(2) Except for the relatively few Type A Service married quarters, since 1975 the figures derived from local authority rents have been reflected directly.