§ Mr. Beithasked the Secretary of State for Defence what mileage rate is paid to members of the RAF for the use of their private cars in the course of duty; how much lower this is than the rate paid to civil servants and hon. Members; and why it is not at the same level.
§ Mr. WellbelovedThere are two rates of motor mileage allowance paid to members of the RAF who use their private cars in the course of duty.
322WThe official duty rate is payable when the private car is used on official journeys for which service or public transport is either not available or not suitable. The current rates are:
Vehicle Capacity 501 cc.-1,000 cc. 10.6p per mile 1,001 cc.-1,750 cc. 12.3p per mile Over 1,750 cc. 13.4p per mile Identical rates apply to civil servants. Hon. Members may claim 13.4p per mile for journeys in their private cars made in connection with their parliamentary duties.
The public transport rate is payable when a Service man uses his car for a duty journey which could be undertaken by public or official transport, but for which the Service man chooses to use his own vehicle, and the rate is related to the travel cost to which public funds would otherwise have been put. For members of the Armed Forces the current rate payable for vehicles in excess of 501 cc. is 5.7p per mile, and this takes account of a preferential rate of rail travel available for Service personnel. For civil servants, however, the rate is 6.3p per mile, and this is higher than the Services' allowance as no preferential rate is available from British Rail for them.