Portsmouth MP '˜frustrated' by delay to armed forces payments

Portsmouth South MP Stephen Morgan pressed the chief secretary to the Treasury Liz Truss on when armed forces personnel would see their one off consolidated payment of 0.9 per cent.

In the House of Commons yesterday, the MP asked her exactly when servicemen and women would see the increase in their bank accounts.

Upon hearing the answer that the boost would come in '˜later this year' Mr Morgan described it as a '˜non-answer'.

He said: '˜I'm pleased our armed forces personnel will be getting this consolidated payment, but remain concerned by the lack of specificity on time-frames from the Treasury.

'˜We're all too familiar with the Government's habit of pushing back spending commitments, but our serving men and women can't afford to wait '“ times are tough, pay is squeezed, and this payment needs to occur sooner rather than later.

'˜It's really frustrating the Tories won't tell them when they can expect it.'

The government has also announced a pay rise of two per cent for armed forces personnel.