§ Mr. Ashtonasked the Secretary of State for Defence why service personnel in the Falklands have been refused a free phone call home at Christmas.
§ Mr. StanleyNo member of Her Majesty's forces serving anywhere overseas is offered free or directly subsidised personal telephone calls home, although no charge is made for calls of a compassionate or welfare nature. However, the cost of long-distance telephone calls is one of several items of extra expenditure taken into account in the payment of local overseas allowance, which is designed specifically to compensate for the extra cost of living overseas. Forces in the Falkland Islands are in receipt of the appropriate rate of this allowance.
§ Mr. Ashtonasked the Secretary of State for Defence what would be the cost of allowing service personnel in the Falklands a free phone call home in off-peak hours over Christmas and the new year holiday.
§ Mr. StanleyA three-minute telephone call from the Falkland Islands would cost around £4.50 per service man.
§ Mr. Ashtonasked the Secretary of State for Defence what would be the estimated cost of allowing all service personnel outside the United Kingdom one free telephone call home at Christmas.
§ Mr. StanleyThis information could be supplied only at disproportionate cost.
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§ Mr. Ashtonasked the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects married quarters to be available on the Falkland Islands and wives to be allowed to go there.
§ Mr. StanleyNine married quarters are to be built in the Falkland Islands for service and civilian personnel in certain key posts who will serve accompanied tours; these will be completed in mid-1984. In the meantime, the Falkland Islands Government are making available to the Ministry of Defence four houses, two of which will be available shortly, and the other two early in 1984. The present Commander British Forces Falkland Islands is serving an accompanied tour.