§ Mr. KeetchTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the compatibility of the pay and conditions of the Royal Gibraltar Regiment and other regiments in the British Army, excluding the Gurkhas; and if he will make a statement. [56896]
§ Mr. IngramThe Royal Gibraltar Regiment is a force raised in Gibraltar for service in Gibraltar. Its officers hold a Governor's Commission rather than a Queen's Commission. The Regiment has close links with the British Army, and occasionally officers and soldiers are attached for a period of time to British Army units.
Members of the permanent cadre of the Royal Gibraltar Regiment and the Volunteer Reserve receive the same rates of pay as their counterparts in the Regular Army and the Territorial Army, with the exception that they receive lower rates of X factor, ie 5 per cent. and 2.5 per cent. respectively, instead of 13 per cent. and 5 per cent. (the X factor is the additional element added to basic pay to reflect the differences between conditions of service in the Army and United Kingdom civilian life). The lower levels of X factor for the Regiment reflects the reduced liability for service of its members. Members of the Royal Gibraltar Regiment may also be eligible for United Kingdom service allowances provided they meet the relevant criteria.