§ Mr. Brothertonasked the Secretary of State for Defence what is his estimate of the cost of increasing Armed Forces pay to take account of the increase in retail prices over the past two years.
§ Mr. MulleySome £135 million per annum based on the movement of the retail price index between January 1976 and January 1978.
However, I should point out that the increase in retail prices is not relevant to the determination of Armed Forces pay scales which are assessed by the Armed Forces Pay Review Body in relation to the movement of pay for jobs of comparable weight outside the Services.