§ Mr. SykesTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made with his Department' s review of the status of single parents in the armed forces.
§ Mr. SoamesMy Department's review of the status of single parents serving in the armed forces is now complete. Its purpose has been to consider, against the background of changing social trends, whether the entitlement to service families' accommodation and other related allowances, which currently applies only to married personnel and to lone parents whose marriages have ended in bereavement, divorce or separation, should be extended to single parents. The armed forces rightly continue to attach great importance to the place of marriage and the family in the service community. We have concluded, however, that single parents should in future be eligible for the same entitlements as other lone parents. These new arrangements will take effect from l January 1995, and will place single parents who wish to remain in the service in a better position to meet fully 823W their service commitments, at the same time as fulfilling their parental responsibilities.