Vote A. Numbers. This Vote fixes the total number of officers and airmen who may be borne during the year, exclusive of those serving on the Indian Establishment, of those in receipt of pay from non-effective Votes only, and of those lent to Dominion, Colonial, and Foreign Governments. It includes officers and airmen serving in Iraq, Palestine and Transjordan, in respect of whom an Appropriation in Aid is received from the Middle East Department. The establishment of the Reserve is shown on page 77; and with the exception of the permanent staff the numbers are not included in this Vote. The number to be voted represents the maximum number which may be borne on any one day during the financial year 1927. The decrease in the numbers to be voted, as compared with 1926, is due to reductions in various establishments, to the replacement of Royal Air Force personnel by civilians where such a course has seemed practicable and economical, but principally to the decision, made late in 1925, to retard the rate of expansion of the Royal Air Force for home defence. Owing to the length of time (varying from 1 to 3 years) necessary to secure adequate technical training, recruiting had previously been proceeding for some time in anticipation of a continuous programme of rapid expansion, and it was not possible to show the full effect of retardation in the Vote for 1926, which had to provide for the maximum number at the beginning of the year. A 3 (24471) VOTE 1. Pay, etc., of the Air Force. This Vote provides for the full pay and personal allowances of officers and airmen of the Royal Air Force, except personnel serving on the Indian Establishment and those lent to other Governments, or provided for in other Votes. It also includes the pay, etc., of personnel attached from other Services; the salaries and wages of civilians employed at Recruiting Offices, Royal Air Force Depôts, etc., together with marriage allowances of airmen and certain miscellaneous allowances and payments. Other votes containing provision for Royal Air Force personnel are as follows: Experimental and Research Establishments... Medical Branch (with a few exceptions as explained Vote 3 The Appropriations-in-Aid, including the contribution paid by India in respect of the cost of recruiting and training personnel for the Indian establishment, are shown in detail on page 14a. Note.-As from the 1st April, 1927, the cost of the Royal Air Force at Aden will be borne as a final charge on the Vote for Middle Eastern Services, repayment being made to the Air Ministry as in the similar cases of Iraq and Palestine. An appropriation-in-aid is accordingly taken for the first time. The decrease in the gross total of the vote is due mainly to a reduction in the average numbers of officers and airmen anticipated to be borne throughout the year and to the transfer to Vote 6 (Educational Services) of the cost of the staff of the Electrical and Wireless School and the School of Technical Training (Men). The decrease in appropriations in aid is due to reduced receipts from the Middle East Department consequent upon reductions in the garrisons of Iraq and Palestine. VOTE 1. PAY, &c., OF THE AIR FORCE. 1. AN ESTIMATE of the Sum which will be required in the Year ending 31st March 1928, to defray the Expense of the PAY, &C., of the AIR FORCE. Three Million One Hundred and Sixty Thousand Pounds. (£3,160,000). II. SUBHEADS under which this Vote will be accounted for. A. PAY AND PERSONAL ALLOWANCES OF OFFICERS. The several rates of pay and allowances are shown in Appendix 3. Full details of the conditions of issue are given in King's Regulations, Chapters XXXVIII and XXXIX. 1. Pay. Naval and Army officers seconded to the Royal Air Force with temporary commissions therein receive the rates of pay and allowances applicable to their substantive rank in the Royal Air Force, subject to certain modifications in the case of officers seconded from the Indian Army. Naval officers attached to the Royal Air Force with temporary Royal Air Force commissions for service in the Fleet Air Arm receive the naval rates of pay and allowances applicable to their rank in the Royal Navy, with the addition of an air allowance of 6s. daily. Legal Officers and Directors of Music receive the same rates of pay and allowances (except outfit allowance) as officers of corresponding rank and appointment in the Army. For outfit allowance, the Royal Air Force rules apply. 2. Allowances. Servant Allowance.-An allowance of 28. a day is issued in respect of the services of each authorised servant both at home and abroad in cases where batmen are not provided. In Iraq a special servant allowance of Rs. 1 As. 8 a day together with free rations for the servant has been authorised. Colonial Allowance.-This allowance is issued in aid of extra expenses incurred by officers serving in certain overseas territories where the cost of living is higher than in the United Kingdom. The rates at present authorised for all officers, irrespective of rank, are as follows: Egypt, Aden, Palestine, and Transjordan-3s. a day. Sudan 6s. a day. Iraq-Rs. 8 a day. Field Allowance.-This allowance which varies from 2s. to 3s. 6d. a day is issued in aid of the expenses caused to officers when accommodated under canvas or in temporary hutments, &c., not equipped at the public expense in excess of the scales laid down for officers' tents in standing camps, or when in bivouac or on active service in the field. Entertainment Allowance.-This allowance is issued to officers in command of certain formations in aid of their expenditure on entertainment. The rates at present paid vary from 68. 9d. to 18s a day. Consolidated Allowances to Air Attachés and Language Students.-A consolidated allowance to cover entertainment, locomotion within the capital to which they are accredited, and all allowances except travelling outside the capital, is issued to Air Attachés at various foreign capitals. The rates at present authorised vary from 37. 10s. to 57. a day. A consolidated allowance of 425l. or 475l. a year in place of all other allowances is issued to language students while taking the course of study in Japan; an additional allowance at the rate of 50l. a year is issued if the officer is attached to the Japanese Army during the second or third year of his course. The decrease is due to the reduced number of officers borne for training, to the transfer to Vote 6 of the charge for the officer staff for the Electrical and Wireless School and the School of Technical Training (Men), to the substitution of airmen pilots for junior officers and to a reduction in the garrison of Iraq. (24471) A 4 |