HC Deb 24 May 1990 vol 173 c375W
Mr. Nicholas Bennett

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will give details of the annual pay rates for(a) an Ulster Defence Regiment private, permanent cadre, after two years' service, (b) an Ulster Defence Regiment private, part-time after two years' service and (c) a Regular Army private with two years' service serving in Northern Ireland on (a) six-month tour and (b) two-year posting.

Mr. Archie Hamilton

Direct comparisons between the Ulster Defence Regiment (permanent cadre) pay structure and that of the Regular Army are difficult although neither pay scale provides for extra pay after two years' service as a matter of course. All Service men in Northern Ireland receive Northern Ireland additional pay when serving in Northern Ireland at the rate of £3.16 per day with effect from 1 April 1990 and £3.20 per day from 1 January 1991.

Illustrative annual rates of pay for private soldiers who are likely to have two years' service are as follows:

With effect from: 1 April 1990 1 January 1991
£ £
UDR (Permanent cadre)
Private, A, Scale B 9,241.80 9,541.10
Regular Army (Infantry)
Private, Class 1, Band 1, Scale B 8,705.25 8,946.15

Note: UDR private A and Regular Army private class I are both broadly equivalent in that they represent the most highly qualified in their rank and job.

There is no difference in basic pay between soldiers serving in Northern Ireland for six months and those for two-year periods.

A private soldier in the part-time element of the UDR will, after two years' service, receive pay at the rate of £22.30 per day. Service in the UDR (part-time) carries a minimum training/operational requirement and the amount of annual pay received will, therefore, depend on the actual number of days attended by each soldier.

In addition to pay, a soldier who completes the minimum obligatory training/duty and fulfils a number of other criteria, may qualify for payment of an annual bounty. Current rates are £565 on satisfactory completion of the second year of service and £800 for the third and subsequent years.