§ Mr. GrayTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if local overseas allowance is payable to air crews on exercise Saif Sareea and Operation Veritas; what the weekly value is of the(a) welfare package offered to air crews during Saif Sareea and (b) local overseas allowance; and if he will make a statement. [24373]
§ Mr. IngramNo Local Overseas Allowance (LOA) was payable to personnel, including aircrew, for Exercise Saif Sareea II, nor is it payable for those deployed on Operation Veritas. In both cases deployed personnel have been eligible for the Operational Welfare Package (OWP).
LOA is not part of the military salary or a reward for overseas service. It is a cost of living addition paid only in circumstances where personnel are likely to incur greater day-to-day expenditure overseas than they would in the UK. This is not generally the case for those deployed on operations or major exercises in remote locations.
A comprehensive OWP was made available to deployed personnel engaged in Exercise Saif Sareea II. I refer the hon. Member to the answer which my right hon. Friend the then Minister of State for the Armed 560W Forces gave on 19 March 2001, Official Report, column 12, to my hon. Friend the Member for Bolton, South-East (Dr. Iddon) which covered the welfare arrangements for exercises lasting for two months or more. The package provided a personal allowance of 20 minutes of publicly funded telephone calls per week; free forces aerogrammes and concessionary parcel rates; access to the internet and e-mail; newspapers and book packs; BFBS TV and Radio; televisions, video recorders and video tapes; Expeditionary Forces Institute shops; publicly funded laundry, fitness equipment and a Combined Services Entertainment show. Similar facilities are being made available to those deployed on Operation Veritas.
The cost of providing the OWP to Exercise Saif Sareea II is estimated to be £8.5 million, but it is not possible to quantify the value to an individual where there is no comparable local market for the services provided. If LOA had been judged appropriate for those exercising in Oman, examples rates are £67.97 per week for an RAF Corporal and £80.71 per week for a Squadron Leader.