6% pay rise a vote of confidence in Armed Forces, defence minister says

The largest pay rise in decades for members of the Armed Forces has been described as a "vote of confidence" by defence minister Maria Eagle.

In July, the Government announced it had accepted recommendations from an independent pay review body that a headline rise of 6% should be given to those who serve in the military. 

The Minister for Defence Procurement and Industry denied the rise was unaffordable, adding "the Government values the work of Armed Forces".

• Who decides if military personnel get a pay rise?
• Armed Forces to get 6% pay rise – more than most other public sector workers
• Armed Forces pay rise: What the 6% increase means for personnel's pay

Ms Eagle spoke to BFBS Forces News at Somers Forge, a factory in the West Midlands that produces propulsion shafts for Royal Navy warships and submarines. 

Her comments came as the MOD announced £850m worth of new contracts designed to keep the Royal Navy’s fleet in a state of readiness. 

Pushed on whether a 6% pay rise was affordable ahead of the Government's strategic defence review (SDR), due to be published next year, the minister said "we do need to live within our means”, but added the pay rise has been funded from this year's budget.

"I don't think there's anything unusual about making sure in-year we're spending the money that we’ve got as well as we can possibly do it," Ms Eagle said.

She added: "These things shouldn’t be conflated."

The funding for the rise had previously been announced as coming from existing budgets by Defence Secretary John Healey, which equates to a bill of more than £400m. 

Last year, the National Audit Office (NAO) highlighted the MOD’s equipment plan for the next decade was underfunded to the tune of £16.9bn.

When asked about this, Ms Eagle said the equipment plan was inherited from the Conservatives and that the Government was committed to "a path to 2.5% which means more money for defence over time".

How will the Armed Forces pay rise affect you?

A universal 6% uplift will apply for ranks starting at pay point OR2-04 and above. The increase will be paid from September and backdated to April 2024.

Recruits to the Armed Forces will receive a higher starting salary of £25,200, which represents a 7.5% increase.

Senior personnel with two-star ranks and higher will receive a 5% consolidated increase in base pay.

There will be no change to the current pay differential arrangements for senior medical and dental officers.

Accommodation charges

There are changes to accommodation charges, with the cost of service families accommodation band A increasing by 6%, backdated from 1 April 2024.

This will affect the rents of lower bands differently, as they are set in descending increments of 10% of the band A rate.

There will also be an increase of 2.4% for furniture charges.

Single living accommodation (SLA) rent for grade 1 will increase by 6%, while there will be increases of 4% for grade 2 and 2% for grade 3. There is no increase for grade 4.