Written question asked by Paul Keetch (Liberal Democrat) on Tuesday, 18 May 2004, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 7 June 2004. It was answered by Ivor Caplin (Labour) on Monday, 7 June 2004 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Ministry of Defence

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of Territorial Army bounty payments were made on time this year; what the causes of failed payments were; what the timetable is for resolution of such problems; and if he will make a statement.

Answer: Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of Territorial Army bounty payments were made on time this year; what the causes of failed payments were; what the timetable is for resolution of such problems; and if he will make a statement. [175044] Mr. Caplin: To determine the proportion of bounty payments paid promptly would require every TA unit, in conjunction with Army pay staff to examine manually the pay account of each TA soldier to identify instances where payment was delayed, and the reasons why this might have occurred. This could only be done at a disproportionate cost. However, as at 30 April 2004 approximately 16,000 bounty payments had been paid. The late or incorrect submission of data to the Army Pay computer may cause a small number of individuals to experience a slight delay in receiving their bounty payment, there are no known problems affecting the payment of bounties.

Secondary information