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Written question asked by Barry Gardiner (Labour) on Monday, 25 October 1999, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 8 November 1999. It was answered by Lord Spellar (Labour) on Monday, 8 November 1999 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.


Ministry of Defence

Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, What steps the Government is taking to improve Service Welfare Telephone Allowances. (Failed OPQ). - Inc figures.
Answer

Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps the Government are taking to improve service welfare telephone allowances. [96155] Mr. Spellar: We recognise the importance of personnel deployed on operations being able to telephone home. We increased the free telephone allowance from 3 to 10 minutes in the Strategic Defence Review last year. The previous Secretary of State for Defence, Lord Robertson, announced on 28 September 1999 a further increase, doubling the allowance to 20 minutes a week. This was to take immediate effect and demonstrated our commitment to the welfare of Service personnel.


Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
96155; 337 c401W
Session
1998-99
Question not reached
Yes
Subjects
Armed forces Allowances Deployment Telephones Welfare telephone allowance
Contains statistics
Yes