The Government has accepted the recommendations of the independent Armed Forces’ Pay Review Body and will implement them in full. This will mean a 2% rise in Armed Forces pay from 1 April 2010.
Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth has also announced today an increase to the Operational Allowance given to deployed personnel to £2,640 over a standard six-month tour, up from £2,380. This is not part of the AFPRB measures.
As a result of the increases announced today, a Private soldier deploying on their first operation will now receive:
- Basic pay between £17,015 – £26,405.
- £2,640 tax free Operational Allowance over a six month tour.
- A minimum of £1,218 in Longer Separation Allowance over a six month tour.
This brings the minimum that a Private soldier deploying on operations could receive to £20,873.
The pay award means that an extra £196 million will be spent on pay for the Armed Forces.
Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth said:
“We ask a huge amount from our Armed Forces, both while deployed on operations and at home. They have never failed to meet those demands with courage and professionalism and this pay rise is well-deserved.”
Chief of the Defence Staff Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup said:
“Our people carry a huge burden on behalf of the nation and it is crucial that they are justly rewarded for that. This pay rise is a welcome and appropriate acknowledgment of the work they do on behalf of the country, often in the most dangerous and demanding of circumstances.”
Other key recommendations accepted by the MOD include:
- Targeted measures, including the introduction of financial retention incentives to retain personnel essential to delivering key operational capability.
- The extension of the provisions, which allow those serving on certain seagoing vessels to receive Longer Separation Allowance (LSA), to include all Service personnel operating under similar arrangements under field and shipboard conditions.
- A reduction of the LSA minimum entitlement threshold from ten to seven days continuous separation.
- The extension of Unpleasant Living Allowance to cover Service personnel living and operating from Forward Operating Bases and Patrol Bases in Afghanistan.
