Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what reductions have been made in previously-planned spending for 2023/24 to pay for the additional cost of the Armed Forces Pay Review Body pay settlement in (a) planned spending on civilian personnel, (b) other elements of the planned RDEL budget and (c) the planned CDEL budget.

To ensure that the pay award remains affordable and that we continue to recognise our people as our most important asset, the Department has introduced civilian recruitment controls to find savings through natural voluntary outflow, as well as further reprioritising funding within the existing Defence budget through the usual budget management process.