§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Bach)My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Defence (Mr Geoffrey Hoon) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
The supplement to the 2004 Report of the Armed Forces' Pay Review Body making recommendations on the pay of service medical and dental officers has been published today. Copies of the supplement are available in the Vote Office and the Library of the House.
The review body recommends an increase of 3.225 per cent for all regular and reserve Defence Medical Services medical and dental officers. The review body 22WS also recommends a pay increase of 3.225 per cent for medical and dental cadets and an out-of-hours supplementary payment of £4,500 to junior doctors. In addition, the review body recommends that there should be an increase of 3.225 per cent in the values of trainer pay and distinction awards.
The cost of these recommendations to the defence budget will be some £6.3 million. This will he met within existing departmental expenditure limits.
The review body's final recommendations are to be accepted in full, with implementation effective from 1 April 2004.