Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people in the armed forces are in receipt of a Level (a) 3 and (b) 4 language allowance in Dari.
The information requested is provided below:
Level 3 (Professional) Level | Level 4 (Expert) Level | |
Total Armed Forces Personnel currently in receipt of Language Allowance | 30 | 1 |
Total Armed Forces personnel currently in receipt of Language Allowance - Arabic | 6 | Nil |
Total Armed Forces personnel currently in receipt of Language Allowance - Pashto | 21 | 1 |
Total Armed Forces personnel currently in receipt of Language Allowance – Dari | 1 | Nil |
The information provided relates to the Defence Operational Allowance Language Award Scheme (DOLAS) and the Active Use Awards (AUA) under that scheme. Languages classified as Operational are Arabic, Pashto, Farsi, Dari and Somali. All other languages are not currently classified as Operational and therefore do not attract a language allowance payment within this scheme.