§ Mr. SpellarTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are the levels of allowances paid to military personnel serving in(a) Germany, (b) former Yugoslavia and (c) Northern Ireland.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonThe allowances paid to military personnel depend not only on their location but on their rank, job and personal circumstances, including whether they are married or not. It is our general policy that normal rules on allowances apply wherever personnel are serving. These rules include the payment of local overseas allowance to personnel deployed outside the United Kingdom to cover, where appropriate, the additional costs associated with living in the country concerned. Troops deployed from Germany to the former Yugoslavia continue to receive a significant element of the LOA, 70 per cent. for married personnel and 40 per cent. for single personnel, in recognition of their continuing financial462W commitments in Germany. In recognition of the conditions under which they are serving we have introduced a special welfare package which includes free two-way aerogrammes and an allowance towards the cost of telephone calls for all troops based in the former Yugoslavia. Personnel deployed to Northern Ireland also receive a number of special allowances, for example, in respect of meals and telephone calls.