Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of undertaking a pay review for all military personnel.

The Armed Forces are served by two independent pay review bodies, the Armed Forces’ Pay Review Body, and the Senior Salaries Review Body, who provide recommendations annually on remuneration for all Service personnel.

The Secretary of State for Defence sent a pay round remit letter to the Armed Forces’ Pay Review body on 30 of September 2024 requesting their advice to the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Defence on the remuneration and charges for members of the Naval, Military and Air Forces of the Crown for the 2025 Pay Round.

On 29 July 2024, the Government accepted the Armed Forces’ Pay Review Body’s and Senior Salaries Review Body’s recommendations in full for the 2024-25 Pay Round, which was backdated to 1 April 2024 and paid in September salaries.

This was the largest headline percentage uplift in 22 years for the Armed Forces.