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1028530

	registered interest
	date	19/12/2018
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Armed Forces: Pay
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made the number of members of the armed forces that have been paid an annual salary of (a) less than and (b) more than £30,000 in each year since 2010.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	203791
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/01/2019 answer text <p>The number of members of the Armed Forces that have been paid an annual salary of less than and more than £30,000 in each year since 2010 is shown below</p><p> </p><p>Table 1 - UK Regular Forces Salaries at 1 April 2010 to 1 April 2018*</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Date</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Less than £30,000</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>More than £30,000</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>01/04/2010</p></td><td><p>97,700</p></td><td><p>94,010</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>01/04/2011</p></td><td><p>93,240</p></td><td><p>93,130</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>01/04/2012</p></td><td><p>89,650</p></td><td><p>90,160</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>01/04/2013</p></td><td><p>83,850</p></td><td><p>86,860</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>01/04/2014</p></td><td><p>76,230</p></td><td><p>83,400</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>01/04/2015</p></td><td><p>73,170</p></td><td><p>80,550</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>01/04/2016</p></td><td><p>62,710</p></td><td><p>88,290</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>01/04/2017</p></td><td><p>62,600</p></td><td><p>86,770</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>01/04/2018</p></td><td><p>61,200</p></td><td><p>85,360</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>*Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10, unless they end in &quot;5&quot;, in which case they are rounded to the nearest 20 to avoid systematic bias.</p><p> </p><p>UK Regular Forces comprises all UK Regulars from the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Army and Royal Air Force. Gurkhas and Full Time Reserve Service.</p><p> </p><p>There were a small number of individuals who did not have a pay record. Where this was the case their NATO Rank was used to determine their salary.</p><p> </p><p>Salary is defined as gross basic pay plus X-Factor and any Job Evaluation Supplements. Employer and pension contributions, allowances and other types of financial assistance, including expenses, are excluded. The salary is taken as a snapshot at 1 April each year.</p> answering member constituency Bournemouth East answering member printed Mr Tobias Ellwood question first answered 07/01/2019 16:11:33 answering member 1487 label Biography information for Mr Tobias Ellwood
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1121827

	registered interest
	date	18/04/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Armed Forces: Pay
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will publish the recommendations made by the Armed Forces Pay Review Body in each year since 2008-09 to date; and what the final settlement was for Royal Navy personnel in each such year.
	tabling member constituency	Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport
	tabling member printed	Luke Pollard
	uin	246002
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/04/2019 answer text <p>The Armed Forces Pay Review Body (AFPRB) is an independent advisory non-departmental public body, sponsored by the Ministry of Defence (MOD). Copies of the AFPRB's reports, containing their recommendations, can be found at the following link:</p><p>https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/armed-forces-pay-review-body</p><p>The AFPRB's recommendations have always been accepted by the MOD. The reports contain the final settlements for the Armed Forces.</p><p>Copies of the AFPRB's reports are also available in the Vote Office.</p> answering member constituency Bournemouth East answering member printed Mr Tobias Ellwood question first answered 30/04/2019 15:01:12 answering member 1487 label Biography information for Mr Tobias Ellwood
	tabling member	4682 label Biography information for Luke Pollard

1127391

	registered interest
	date	20/05/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Armed Forces: Pay
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	What recent discussions she has had with the Armed Forces' Pay Review Body on levels of pay for the armed forces.
	tabling member constituency	Stockton North
	tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
	uin	910988
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/05/2019 answer text <p>The Ministry of Defence has provided the Armed Forces’ Pay Review Body with all its evidence to support their recommendations for Pay Round 2019-20 and is awaiting submission of the Pay Review Body’s final report. The Government will then consider the recommendations before agreeing the final 2019 Armed Forces Pay Award, taking into account the need to recruit, retain, and motivate suitably able and qualified personnel, as well as the long term affordability of the Armed Forces.</p> answering member constituency Bournemouth East answering member printed Mr Tobias Ellwood question first answered 20/05/2019 16:45:11 answering member 1487 label Biography information for Mr Tobias Ellwood
	tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

1127959

	registered interest
	date	21/05/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Armed Forces: Pay
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions she has had with the Armed Forces Pay Review Body on levels of pay for the armed forces.
	tabling member constituency	Slough
	tabling member printed	Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi
	uin	257143
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/06/2019 answer text <p>The Ministry of Defence has provided the Armed Forces' Pay Review Body with all its evidence to support their recommendations for Pay Round 2019-20. The Armed Forces' Pay Review Body have submitted their report and Her Majesty's Government is currently considering the recommendations before agreeing the final 2019 Armed Forces Pay Award.</p> answering member constituency Bournemouth East answering member printed Mr Tobias Ellwood question first answered 04/06/2019 15:01:20 answering member 1487 label Biography information for Mr Tobias Ellwood
	tabling member	4638 label Biography information for Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi

223579

	registered interest
	date	25/02/2015
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Armed Forces: Pay
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, at what rate Accelerated Incremental Progression payments have been made in each year since 2010.
	tabling member constituency	North Durham
	tabling member printed	Mr Kevan Jones
	uin	225421
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/03/2015 answer text <p>Accelerated Incremental Progression (AIP) allows a Service person an immediate progression in their pay level as a result of a work-related course or a qualification. Each individual can qualify and claim for two AIPs during their career, at a point of their choosing.</p><p> </p><p>Our Service personnel do a difficult job and it is important they receive accurate pay for the hard work they do. While the majority of awards are made correctly, misinterpretation of the published qualifying criteria for AIP has resulted in some individuals receiving an incorrect award. Unfortunately, payment errors occur occasionally. We obviously regret such occurrences. It is right that we correct identified errors and ask for repayment of monies wrongly received. Allowing individuals to keep money that they are not entitled to would be unfair to both taxpayers and other Service personnel who did not receive this payment. It would also be inconsistent with HM Treasury instructions on the management of public money.</p><p> </p><p>If an individual overpayment to a Service person is equal to or less than four days’ gross pay then the full sum is recovered, without notification, from the next monthly salary payment. For overpayments greater than four days’ gross pay, a notification is made on the next available monthly payslip that a debt has been incurred. Recovery action is then scheduled after two subsequent pay periods, and any overpayments recovered are made at no more than four days’ gross pay per month.</p><p> </p><p>Service personnel who wish to challenge the reason for any recovery of an overpayment may submit a case through their Chain of Command to Defence Business Services.　In addition, processes are in place for Service personnel: to agree to pay back any overpayment over a shorter period; to make a formal objection against recovery on hardship or other grounds and; to argue that the debt be written off or repaid over a longer period. All recoveries are postponed while casework or objections are being considered.</p><p> </p><p>Errors in the payment of AIP are dealt with in the same way as any other payment error - the account is corrected and any overpayment recovered. The calculation of money owed is simply the difference between what has been paid and what should have been paid had the error not occurred. AIP does not occur at a particular rate or have a defined cash value.</p><p> </p><p>Courses and qualifications which are eligible for AIP payments are listed in Joint Service Publication (JSP) 754 (Tri-Service Regulations for Pay and Charges), which is updated biannually as required to meet Service manning requirements. The single Services are responsible for decisions on which courses or qualifications should qualify for AIP payments. It is not possible to quantify the number of people who may have erroneously applied for AIP payments on the basis of the criteria relevant to any particular edition of this JSP. Overpayments can occur for a number of reasons which do not necessarily arise from changes to eligibility criteria set out in JSP 754, although erroneous claims for courses which are no longer eligible can be a factor.</p><p> </p><p>Information about the number of Service personnel who have repaid money as a result of AIP payment errors since 2010 could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, our records indicate that 488 Army personnel who received erroneous AIP payments have repaid or are making repayments and 423 Royal Navy personnel who received an overpayment through the misapplication of Qualification Points have repaid or are making repayments. Additionally, approximately 1,500 Royal Air Force (RAF) personnel have been identified as having received erroneous AIP payments, which are required to be repaid; this represents 15% of all RAF AIP payments made.</p><p> </p><p>The total that has been overpaid and which is being paid back is in the region of £3.1 million. Each Service person or ex-Service person is required to repay the amount owed. As described above, each case may be subject to challenges and objections. The average amount to be repaid per person is in the region of £1,285 and the date by which payment must be paid varies according to the specific circumstances of each case.</p> answering member constituency Broxtowe answering member printed Anna Soubry grouped question UIN 225422 225423 225424 225641 225642 225643 question first answered 04/03/2015 17:39:08 answering member 3938 label Biography information for Anna Soubry
	tabling member	1438 label Biography information for Mr Kevan Jones

223582

	registered interest
	date	25/02/2015
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Armed Forces: Pay
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many members of the armed forces have had to repay money as a result of errors in Accelerated Incremental Progression payments in each year since 2010.
	tabling member constituency	North Durham
	tabling member printed	Mr Kevan Jones
	uin	225424
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/03/2015 answer text <p>Accelerated Incremental Progression (AIP) allows a Service person an immediate progression in their pay level as a result of a work-related course or a qualification. Each individual can qualify and claim for two AIPs during their career, at a point of their choosing.</p><p> </p><p>Our Service personnel do a difficult job and it is important they receive accurate pay for the hard work they do. While the majority of awards are made correctly, misinterpretation of the published qualifying criteria for AIP has resulted in some individuals receiving an incorrect award. Unfortunately, payment errors occur occasionally. We obviously regret such occurrences. It is right that we correct identified errors and ask for repayment of monies wrongly received. Allowing individuals to keep money that they are not entitled to would be unfair to both taxpayers and other Service personnel who did not receive this payment. It would also be inconsistent with HM Treasury instructions on the management of public money.</p><p> </p><p>If an individual overpayment to a Service person is equal to or less than four days’ gross pay then the full sum is recovered, without notification, from the next monthly salary payment. For overpayments greater than four days’ gross pay, a notification is made on the next available monthly payslip that a debt has been incurred. Recovery action is then scheduled after two subsequent pay periods, and any overpayments recovered are made at no more than four days’ gross pay per month.</p><p> </p><p>Service personnel who wish to challenge the reason for any recovery of an overpayment may submit a case through their Chain of Command to Defence Business Services.　In addition, processes are in place for Service personnel: to agree to pay back any overpayment over a shorter period; to make a formal objection against recovery on hardship or other grounds and; to argue that the debt be written off or repaid over a longer period. All recoveries are postponed while casework or objections are being considered.</p><p> </p><p>Errors in the payment of AIP are dealt with in the same way as any other payment error - the account is corrected and any overpayment recovered. The calculation of money owed is simply the difference between what has been paid and what should have been paid had the error not occurred. AIP does not occur at a particular rate or have a defined cash value.</p><p> </p><p>Courses and qualifications which are eligible for AIP payments are listed in Joint Service Publication (JSP) 754 (Tri-Service Regulations for Pay and Charges), which is updated biannually as required to meet Service manning requirements. The single Services are responsible for decisions on which courses or qualifications should qualify for AIP payments. It is not possible to quantify the number of people who may have erroneously applied for AIP payments on the basis of the criteria relevant to any particular edition of this JSP. Overpayments can occur for a number of reasons which do not necessarily arise from changes to eligibility criteria set out in JSP 754, although erroneous claims for courses which are no longer eligible can be a factor.</p><p> </p><p>Information about the number of Service personnel who have repaid money as a result of AIP payment errors since 2010 could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, our records indicate that 488 Army personnel who received erroneous AIP payments have repaid or are making repayments and 423 Royal Navy personnel who received an overpayment through the misapplication of Qualification Points have repaid or are making repayments. Additionally, approximately 1,500 Royal Air Force (RAF) personnel have been identified as having received erroneous AIP payments, which are required to be repaid; this represents 15% of all RAF AIP payments made.</p><p> </p><p>The total that has been overpaid and which is being paid back is in the region of £3.1 million. Each Service person or ex-Service person is required to repay the amount owed. As described above, each case may be subject to challenges and objections. The average amount to be repaid per person is in the region of £1,285 and the date by which payment must be paid varies according to the specific circumstances of each case.</p> answering member constituency Broxtowe answering member printed Anna Soubry grouped question UIN 225421 225422 225423 225641 225642 225643 question first answered 04/03/2015 17:39:09 answering member 3938 label Biography information for Anna Soubry
	tabling member	1438 label Biography information for Mr Kevan Jones

223585

	registered interest
	date	25/02/2015
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Armed Forces: Pay
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what method his Department uses to calculate money owed by members of the armed forces as a result of errors in Accelerated Incremental Progression payments.
	tabling member constituency	North Durham
	tabling member printed	Mr Kevan Jones
	uin	225422
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/03/2015 answer text <p>Accelerated Incremental Progression (AIP) allows a Service person an immediate progression in their pay level as a result of a work-related course or a qualification. Each individual can qualify and claim for two AIPs during their career, at a point of their choosing.</p><p> </p><p>Our Service personnel do a difficult job and it is important they receive accurate pay for the hard work they do. While the majority of awards are made correctly, misinterpretation of the published qualifying criteria for AIP has resulted in some individuals receiving an incorrect award. Unfortunately, payment errors occur occasionally. We obviously regret such occurrences. It is right that we correct identified errors and ask for repayment of monies wrongly received. Allowing individuals to keep money that they are not entitled to would be unfair to both taxpayers and other Service personnel who did not receive this payment. It would also be inconsistent with HM Treasury instructions on the management of public money.</p><p> </p><p>If an individual overpayment to a Service person is equal to or less than four days’ gross pay then the full sum is recovered, without notification, from the next monthly salary payment. For overpayments greater than four days’ gross pay, a notification is made on the next available monthly payslip that a debt has been incurred. Recovery action is then scheduled after two subsequent pay periods, and any overpayments recovered are made at no more than four days’ gross pay per month.</p><p> </p><p>Service personnel who wish to challenge the reason for any recovery of an overpayment may submit a case through their Chain of Command to Defence Business Services.　In addition, processes are in place for Service personnel: to agree to pay back any overpayment over a shorter period; to make a formal objection against recovery on hardship or other grounds and; to argue that the debt be written off or repaid over a longer period. All recoveries are postponed while casework or objections are being considered.</p><p> </p><p>Errors in the payment of AIP are dealt with in the same way as any other payment error - the account is corrected and any overpayment recovered. The calculation of money owed is simply the difference between what has been paid and what should have been paid had the error not occurred. AIP does not occur at a particular rate or have a defined cash value.</p><p> </p><p>Courses and qualifications which are eligible for AIP payments are listed in Joint Service Publication (JSP) 754 (Tri-Service Regulations for Pay and Charges), which is updated biannually as required to meet Service manning requirements. The single Services are responsible for decisions on which courses or qualifications should qualify for AIP payments. It is not possible to quantify the number of people who may have erroneously applied for AIP payments on the basis of the criteria relevant to any particular edition of this JSP. Overpayments can occur for a number of reasons which do not necessarily arise from changes to eligibility criteria set out in JSP 754, although erroneous claims for courses which are no longer eligible can be a factor.</p><p> </p><p>Information about the number of Service personnel who have repaid money as a result of AIP payment errors since 2010 could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, our records indicate that 488 Army personnel who received erroneous AIP payments have repaid or are making repayments and 423 Royal Navy personnel who received an overpayment through the misapplication of Qualification Points have repaid or are making repayments. Additionally, approximately 1,500 Royal Air Force (RAF) personnel have been identified as having received erroneous AIP payments, which are required to be repaid; this represents 15% of all RAF AIP payments made.</p><p> </p><p>The total that has been overpaid and which is being paid back is in the region of £3.1 million. Each Service person or ex-Service person is required to repay the amount owed. As described above, each case may be subject to challenges and objections. The average amount to be repaid per person is in the region of £1,285 and the date by which payment must be paid varies according to the specific circumstances of each case.</p> answering member constituency Broxtowe answering member printed Anna Soubry grouped question UIN 225421 225423 225424 225641 225642 225643 question first answered 04/03/2015 17:39:08 answering member 3938 label Biography information for Anna Soubry
	tabling member	1438 label Biography information for Mr Kevan Jones

223587

	registered interest
	date	25/02/2015
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Armed Forces: Pay
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what provisions are in place to ensure that service personnel receive adequate notice when they owe money because of errors in Accelerated Incremental Progression payments.
	tabling member constituency	North Durham
	tabling member printed	Mr Kevan Jones
	uin	225423
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/03/2015 answer text <p>Accelerated Incremental Progression (AIP) allows a Service person an immediate progression in their pay level as a result of a work-related course or a qualification. Each individual can qualify and claim for two AIPs during their career, at a point of their choosing.</p><p> </p><p>Our Service personnel do a difficult job and it is important they receive accurate pay for the hard work they do. While the majority of awards are made correctly, misinterpretation of the published qualifying criteria for AIP has resulted in some individuals receiving an incorrect award. Unfortunately, payment errors occur occasionally. We obviously regret such occurrences. It is right that we correct identified errors and ask for repayment of monies wrongly received. Allowing individuals to keep money that they are not entitled to would be unfair to both taxpayers and other Service personnel who did not receive this payment. It would also be inconsistent with HM Treasury instructions on the management of public money.</p><p> </p><p>If an individual overpayment to a Service person is equal to or less than four days’ gross pay then the full sum is recovered, without notification, from the next monthly salary payment. For overpayments greater than four days’ gross pay, a notification is made on the next available monthly payslip that a debt has been incurred. Recovery action is then scheduled after two subsequent pay periods, and any overpayments recovered are made at no more than four days’ gross pay per month.</p><p> </p><p>Service personnel who wish to challenge the reason for any recovery of an overpayment may submit a case through their Chain of Command to Defence Business Services.　In addition, processes are in place for Service personnel: to agree to pay back any overpayment over a shorter period; to make a formal objection against recovery on hardship or other grounds and; to argue that the debt be written off or repaid over a longer period. All recoveries are postponed while casework or objections are being considered.</p><p> </p><p>Errors in the payment of AIP are dealt with in the same way as any other payment error - the account is corrected and any overpayment recovered. The calculation of money owed is simply the difference between what has been paid and what should have been paid had the error not occurred. AIP does not occur at a particular rate or have a defined cash value.</p><p> </p><p>Courses and qualifications which are eligible for AIP payments are listed in Joint Service Publication (JSP) 754 (Tri-Service Regulations for Pay and Charges), which is updated biannually as required to meet Service manning requirements. The single Services are responsible for decisions on which courses or qualifications should qualify for AIP payments. It is not possible to quantify the number of people who may have erroneously applied for AIP payments on the basis of the criteria relevant to any particular edition of this JSP. Overpayments can occur for a number of reasons which do not necessarily arise from changes to eligibility criteria set out in JSP 754, although erroneous claims for courses which are no longer eligible can be a factor.</p><p> </p><p>Information about the number of Service personnel who have repaid money as a result of AIP payment errors since 2010 could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, our records indicate that 488 Army personnel who received erroneous AIP payments have repaid or are making repayments and 423 Royal Navy personnel who received an overpayment through the misapplication of Qualification Points have repaid or are making repayments. Additionally, approximately 1,500 Royal Air Force (RAF) personnel have been identified as having received erroneous AIP payments, which are required to be repaid; this represents 15% of all RAF AIP payments made.</p><p> </p><p>The total that has been overpaid and which is being paid back is in the region of £3.1 million. Each Service person or ex-Service person is required to repay the amount owed. As described above, each case may be subject to challenges and objections. The average amount to be repaid per person is in the region of £1,285 and the date by which payment must be paid varies according to the specific circumstances of each case.</p> answering member constituency Broxtowe answering member printed Anna Soubry grouped question UIN 225421 225422 225424 225641 225642 225643 question first answered 04/03/2015 17:39:09 answering member 3938 label Biography information for Anna Soubry
	tabling member	1438 label Biography information for Mr Kevan Jones

223910

	registered interest
	date	26/02/2015
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Armed Forces: Pay
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many service personnel have been overpaid after they applied for accelerated incremental progression payments; how much has been overpaid; how much will have to be paid back by service personnel; what the average amount to be repaid by a serviceman or woman is; and by what date such repayments must be made.
	tabling member constituency	Moray
	tabling member printed	Angus Robertson
	uin	225641
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/03/2015 answer text <p>Accelerated Incremental Progression (AIP) allows a Service person an immediate progression in their pay level as a result of a work-related course or a qualification. Each individual can qualify and claim for two AIPs during their career, at a point of their choosing.</p><p> </p><p>Our Service personnel do a difficult job and it is important they receive accurate pay for the hard work they do. While the majority of awards are made correctly, misinterpretation of the published qualifying criteria for AIP has resulted in some individuals receiving an incorrect award. Unfortunately, payment errors occur occasionally. We obviously regret such occurrences. It is right that we correct identified errors and ask for repayment of monies wrongly received. Allowing individuals to keep money that they are not entitled to would be unfair to both taxpayers and other Service personnel who did not receive this payment. It would also be inconsistent with HM Treasury instructions on the management of public money.</p><p> </p><p>If an individual overpayment to a Service person is equal to or less than four days’ gross pay then the full sum is recovered, without notification, from the next monthly salary payment. For overpayments greater than four days’ gross pay, a notification is made on the next available monthly payslip that a debt has been incurred. Recovery action is then scheduled after two subsequent pay periods, and any overpayments recovered are made at no more than four days’ gross pay per month.</p><p> </p><p>Service personnel who wish to challenge the reason for any recovery of an overpayment may submit a case through their Chain of Command to Defence Business Services.　In addition, processes are in place for Service personnel: to agree to pay back any overpayment over a shorter period; to make a formal objection against recovery on hardship or other grounds and; to argue that the debt be written off or repaid over a longer period. All recoveries are postponed while casework or objections are being considered.</p><p> </p><p>Errors in the payment of AIP are dealt with in the same way as any other payment error - the account is corrected and any overpayment recovered. The calculation of money owed is simply the difference between what has been paid and what should have been paid had the error not occurred. AIP does not occur at a particular rate or have a defined cash value.</p><p> </p><p>Courses and qualifications which are eligible for AIP payments are listed in Joint Service Publication (JSP) 754 (Tri-Service Regulations for Pay and Charges), which is updated biannually as required to meet Service manning requirements. The single Services are responsible for decisions on which courses or qualifications should qualify for AIP payments. It is not possible to quantify the number of people who may have erroneously applied for AIP payments on the basis of the criteria relevant to any particular edition of this JSP. Overpayments can occur for a number of reasons which do not necessarily arise from changes to eligibility criteria set out in JSP 754, although erroneous claims for courses which are no longer eligible can be a factor.</p><p> </p><p>Information about the number of Service personnel who have repaid money as a result of AIP payment errors since 2010 could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, our records indicate that 488 Army personnel who received erroneous AIP payments have repaid or are making repayments and 423 Royal Navy personnel who received an overpayment through the misapplication of Qualification Points have repaid or are making repayments. Additionally, approximately 1,500 Royal Air Force (RAF) personnel have been identified as having received erroneous AIP payments, which are required to be repaid; this represents 15% of all RAF AIP payments made.</p><p> </p><p>The total that has been overpaid and which is being paid back is in the region of £3.1 million. Each Service person or ex-Service person is required to repay the amount owed. As described above, each case may be subject to challenges and objections. The average amount to be repaid per person is in the region of £1,285 and the date by which payment must be paid varies according to the specific circumstances of each case.</p> answering member constituency Broxtowe answering member printed Anna Soubry grouped question UIN 225421 225422 225423 225424 225642 225643 question first answered 04/03/2015 17:39:09 answering member 3938 label Biography information for Anna Soubry
	tabling member	1433 label Biography information for Angus Robertson

223912

	registered interest
	date	26/02/2015
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Armed Forces: Pay
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of forgiving debt owed by service personnel who applied for accelerated incremental progression.
	tabling member constituency	Moray
	tabling member printed	Angus Robertson
	uin	225642
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/03/2015 answer text <p>Accelerated Incremental Progression (AIP) allows a Service person an immediate progression in their pay level as a result of a work-related course or a qualification. Each individual can qualify and claim for two AIPs during their career, at a point of their choosing.</p><p> </p><p>Our Service personnel do a difficult job and it is important they receive accurate pay for the hard work they do. While the majority of awards are made correctly, misinterpretation of the published qualifying criteria for AIP has resulted in some individuals receiving an incorrect award. Unfortunately, payment errors occur occasionally. We obviously regret such occurrences. It is right that we correct identified errors and ask for repayment of monies wrongly received. Allowing individuals to keep money that they are not entitled to would be unfair to both taxpayers and other Service personnel who did not receive this payment. It would also be inconsistent with HM Treasury instructions on the management of public money.</p><p> </p><p>If an individual overpayment to a Service person is equal to or less than four days’ gross pay then the full sum is recovered, without notification, from the next monthly salary payment. For overpayments greater than four days’ gross pay, a notification is made on the next available monthly payslip that a debt has been incurred. Recovery action is then scheduled after two subsequent pay periods, and any overpayments recovered are made at no more than four days’ gross pay per month.</p><p> </p><p>Service personnel who wish to challenge the reason for any recovery of an overpayment may submit a case through their Chain of Command to Defence Business Services.　In addition, processes are in place for Service personnel: to agree to pay back any overpayment over a shorter period; to make a formal objection against recovery on hardship or other grounds and; to argue that the debt be written off or repaid over a longer period. All recoveries are postponed while casework or objections are being considered.</p><p> </p><p>Errors in the payment of AIP are dealt with in the same way as any other payment error - the account is corrected and any overpayment recovered. The calculation of money owed is simply the difference between what has been paid and what should have been paid had the error not occurred. AIP does not occur at a particular rate or have a defined cash value.</p><p> </p><p>Courses and qualifications which are eligible for AIP payments are listed in Joint Service Publication (JSP) 754 (Tri-Service Regulations for Pay and Charges), which is updated biannually as required to meet Service manning requirements. The single Services are responsible for decisions on which courses or qualifications should qualify for AIP payments. It is not possible to quantify the number of people who may have erroneously applied for AIP payments on the basis of the criteria relevant to any particular edition of this JSP. Overpayments can occur for a number of reasons which do not necessarily arise from changes to eligibility criteria set out in JSP 754, although erroneous claims for courses which are no longer eligible can be a factor.</p><p> </p><p>Information about the number of Service personnel who have repaid money as a result of AIP payment errors since 2010 could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, our records indicate that 488 Army personnel who received erroneous AIP payments have repaid or are making repayments and 423 Royal Navy personnel who received an overpayment through the misapplication of Qualification Points have repaid or are making repayments. Additionally, approximately 1,500 Royal Air Force (RAF) personnel have been identified as having received erroneous AIP payments, which are required to be repaid; this represents 15% of all RAF AIP payments made.</p><p> </p><p>The total that has been overpaid and which is being paid back is in the region of £3.1 million. Each Service person or ex-Service person is required to repay the amount owed. As described above, each case may be subject to challenges and objections. The average amount to be repaid per person is in the region of £1,285 and the date by which payment must be paid varies according to the specific circumstances of each case.</p> answering member constituency Broxtowe answering member printed Anna Soubry grouped question UIN 225421 225422 225423 225424 225641 225643 question first answered 04/03/2015 17:39:09 answering member 3938 label Biography information for Anna Soubry
	tabling member	1433 label Biography information for Angus Robertson