Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the armed forces will receive a pay rise in 2021-22.

As announced on 25 November 2020 by my right. hon Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer, this Government will be taking three steps regarding public sector pay awards in 2021-22. First, taking account of the pay review bodies' advice, we will provide a pay rise to over a million nurses, doctors and others working in the NHS. Secondly, to protect jobs, pay rises in the rest of the public sector will be paused next year, including the Armed Forces. But, thirdly, we will protect those on lower incomes; the 2.1 million public sector workers who earn below the median wage of £24,000 will continue to receive a pay increase. It is important to note that over 35,000 of our most junior sailors, solders and aviators fall below the £24,000 threshold, meaning they will be unaffected by the pay freeze and still receive a guaranteed pay rise of £250 in the 2021-22 pay year.

Furthermore, military personnel also benefit from a progressive pay model where, subject to satisfactory performance, they can receive yearly incremental pay progression for every additional year spent in their rank after an initial two-year period, up to a certain cap. In the year 2019/20 45.3% of service personnel moved up a pay increment. This incremental progress is not affected by the pay pause and all personnel expecting to move up an increment next year will continue to do so provided they meet the normal criteria.

A further announcement will be made next year once we have received the recommendations from the independent Armed Forces' Pay Review Body.