Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what comparative assessment he has made of the armed forces pay increase and the projected rate of inflation in 2021-22.

In November 2020 my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer set out, as part of the 2020 Spending Review, the rationale behind a public sector pay pause this year. As outlined in the Secretary of State for Defence's recent letter to the Chair of the Armed Forces' Pay Review Body, covering Pay Round 2021/22, and as detailed in HM Treasury's earlier Economic Evidence to the Pay Review Bodies 2020/21, the pay pause recognises that public sector pay has been shielded from the pandemic's economic effects. It also serves to protect public sector jobs at this time of crisis whilst ensuring fairness between the public and private sectors. As such, no consideration has been given to the effect of a pay pause on average median pay; the household income of Service personnel; or a comparison with projected rates of inflation.