Written question asked by David Crausby (Labour) on Monday, 8 September 2008, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 15 September 2008. It was answered by Derek Twigg (Labour) on Monday, 29 September 2008 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Armed Forces: Food

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service personnel have registered for the Hungry Soldier scheme.

Answer: [holding answer 15 September 2008]: Pay as You Dine was introduced in response to a strong belief, particularly amongst Junior Ranks, that the previous system, which raised monthly food charges irrespective of how many meals were taken, should be replaced with a more flexible scheme that offered longer opening hours and only charged for meals or other services consumed.There is no ““Hungry Soldier”” scheme, but an administrative procedure within units that recognises that some individuals, on occasions, are unable to manage their budgets effectively. Our policy for dealing with this is to place such individuals on the ““Food Charge”” and to provide the standard ““core”” meals until they are able to resolve their financial difficulties. The cost of these meals is then deducted from the following month's pay.

Secondary information