§ Mr. Laurence RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement regarding the pay received by British soldiers who are on duty in and around Kosovo. [85650]
§ Mr. Doug Henderson[holding answer 8 June 1999]: UK Service personnel deployed to the Balkans are paid in accordance with their rank, length of service and, in the case of other ranks, their trade, at rates recommended by the independent Armed Forces Pay Review Body (AFPRB). Where appropriate, personnel also receive additional pay in recognition of their specialist skills or service, ie flying pay or parachute pay, at rates also recommended by the AFPRB.
The AFPRB make their recommendations on the basic pay of all members of the Armed Forces on the basis of broad comparability with the pay of civilian occupations of similar job weight and responsibility within the UK. To this basic pay is then added an additional element called the A-Factor' (currently 12 per cent. of basic pay) to reflect the differences between conditions of service experienced by members of the Armed Forces over a full career and conditions in civilian life, which cannot be taken directly into account in assessing pay comparability. Part of the AFPRB's considerations in determining the X-Factor includes the liability to serve from time to time in difficult and dangerous circumstances. The 'X-Factor' is paid continuously to all Service personnel, apart from the most senior officers, throughout their careers regardless of where they are serving, and it is pensionable. This mechanism is so constructed to ensure our continuing ability to recruit and retain personnel of the right calibre and reflects the fact that the UK's Armed Forces have an expectation of world wide deployment.