Armed Forces: Pay
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to mitigate the impact on armed forces personnel from any delay in announcing the 2026/27 Armed Forces pay round.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones
The Armed Forces’ Pay Review Body (AFPRB) has submitted its report and recommendations. The details of this year’s pay award will be confirmed as soon as possible, and any pay award will be backdated to the start of the Armed Forces pay year on 1 April 2026.
Our Service personnel work with extraordinary professionalism and dedication to keep our nation and our allies safe. This government committed to improving service life and we are delivering - we have appointed the first ever independent Armed Forces commissioner, launched a landmark new Defence Housing Strategy to give military families the homes they deserve, and put in place a new childcare scheme which will save eligible forces families in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland up to £6,000 per year per child.
Pay for most frontline public sector workforces, including the Armed Forces, is set through an annual Pay Review Body process. These independent pay bodies consider a range of evidence when forming their recommendations and submit reports to the government, which then considers them before announcing final settlements.
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