Times have changed!
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Times have changed!
'We're on the fillet steak every night': The Royal Marines being put up in a Holiday Inn hotel because there's no room in the barracks - Home News - UK - The Independent
£25 a day?
I can remember when a days Ration Money was 3/6!
Seeing as at that time, a Boy Entrants daily pay was 2/6, it was a very big bonus when it was time to go on leave
£25 a day?
I can remember when a days Ration Money was 3/6!
Seeing as at that time, a Boy Entrants daily pay was 2/6, it was a very big bonus when it was time to go on leave
Son was on £25 a day the whole time he was at Brunssum, around 18 months, as there were no catering facilities there. Think he subsisted on chips and mayonnaise, at some benefit to his bank balance and some detriment to his waistline!
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I just hope they've replaced the hotel soft toilet tissue with the government approved hard crinkly stuff, otherwise they'll get soft.
As a young recruit in 1970, the government issue toilet paper certainly toughened us up & put determined looks on our faces. Anyone buying their own private supply would be considered a complete wuss, but I don't remember it being a chargeable offence to be caught in possession of it.
It was certainly a traumatic introduction to service life, but it turned me into the person I am today.
As a young recruit in 1970, the government issue toilet paper certainly toughened us up & put determined looks on our faces. Anyone buying their own private supply would be considered a complete wuss, but I don't remember it being a chargeable offence to be caught in possession of it.
It was certainly a traumatic introduction to service life, but it turned me into the person I am today.
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So, from my POV, here in the colonies, could it be remotely possible that HMG 'downsizing' of funding for HM forces has in some way contributed to lack of suitable, read barracks, accomodation and messing for some front-line type personnel? Also of note is that those so accomodated are using the gymn facilities, (thats a good thing to me) and as for their presence putting the locals at risk...
My last 2 trips to Mother England showed me that 25 quid was not a lot of money as a per diem for restaurant meals! I hope they make the most of this windfall before HMG decides to send the Marines to another nasty dangerous place. Good on you mates.
My last 2 trips to Mother England showed me that 25 quid was not a lot of money as a per diem for restaurant meals! I hope they make the most of this windfall before HMG decides to send the Marines to another nasty dangerous place. Good on you mates.
"The hotel is three star and they said they're getting a £25 food vouchers a day."
I suspect these guys will be on a B+B rate so they'll eat breakfast included but even so, £25 for a lunch and a dinner in a Holiday Inn is hardly the lap of luxury. And let's face it, the RAF have always been good at spanking far more on far better hotels than £100 a night Holiday Inns. Quite often it was the norm even where transit accomodation was available on a nearby base.
I don't think anyone can begrudge some Matelots and Marines a cheap hotel and a steak.
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Fillet steak? Pah. Tasteless and overpriced. Go for the ribeye and have couple of beers as well for the same price!
Good luck to them, even if £25 isn't much they deserve the odd treat every now and again
Good luck to them, even if £25 isn't much they deserve the odd treat every now and again
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"Go for the ribeye and have couple of beers as well for the same price!"
I assume that more than one drink of alcohol on the receipt will still not be allowed? The joys of actuals.
I assume that more than one drink of alcohol on the receipt will still not be allowed? The joys of actuals.
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The annoying thing about the guy in the story is that he is being patronising without realising it. Why the hell shouldn't professional people be put up in a-let's be honest hardly five star-hotel chain. There obviously weren't enough 18 man Nissan Huts with coke boilers available.
I assume that more than one drink of alcohol on the receipt will still not be allowed? The joys of actuals.
Let's face it, any sane person would reasonably expect company "X" (or indeed the taxpayer) to buy a dinner and a beer/wine for an employee working for them when away from home. But why would any company pay £50 a day for an employee to have a long messy night on the sauce with a bag of chips at the end? The forces got away with murder for years, it had to end.
Why the hell shouldn't professional people be put up in a-let's be honest hardly five star-hotel chain.
God bless these lads. Mid 1980s on a Gib/Lossiemouth 6 day shuttle our allowance for the night stop, off base at Gib was £100 sterling per night, per person. I was told at the time that off base Gib were the best allowances paid. These boys are really putting up with some hardship.
Smudge
Smudge
The last time I did a course at HMG's expense (lovely country hotel ; ))
First thing I noticed when I walked into the bar was that they had my fave malt whisky
With an obliging waiter/barman - it was absolutely no problem LOL
First thing I noticed when I walked into the bar was that they had my fave malt whisky
With an obliging waiter/barman - it was absolutely no problem LOL
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Mid 1980s on a Gib/Lossiemouth 6 day shuttle our allowance for the night stop, off base at Gib was £100 sterling per night, per person. I was told at the time that off base Gib were the best allowances paid.
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£25 is an amount set by HMRC for daily rates when working away from your normal place of work in the UK and should be non-taxable. It equates to £7 for lunch and £18 for an evening meal. From what I understand, an amount higher than this would be liable to taxation. The amounts payable for travel to other countries are also subject to HMRC regulations so as to remain non-taxable. Actuals are different as they are a reimbursement of money spent from your own finances rather than an additional payment which could be classed as additional income.
These guys will be on receipted actuals with a £25 per day cap for lunch and dinner (or as they probably call it, dinner and tea). If they then take lunch in a mess when on base they are technically being a bit naughty and their receipted actual cap will be abated by £7 per day. And they are limited to 1 alcoholic beverage with their evening meal; interestingly (not really) I think the MOD is the only government department that allows alcoholic beverages at the public expense. DTI and FCO certainly don't. I was t aware that there were tax implications resulting in a £25 per diem cap - not when it is concerning the reimbursement of personal expenditure on behalf of HMG. I just hope these guys keep their receipts - I'd hate to be the JPA audit clerk...
On the issue of barracks availability, this is likely to be down to some local cock up and a failure to interface with their respective planners and DIO. A few years ago I was Customer 1 in a major joint construction programme and the individual Services, especially the Army, were generally unable to give manpower forecast for unit establishments within a 100 personnel. Which is a pretty wide margin when a through life cost of a single bed space is c £65000.
On the issue of barracks availability, this is likely to be down to some local cock up and a failure to interface with their respective planners and DIO. A few years ago I was Customer 1 in a major joint construction programme and the individual Services, especially the Army, were generally unable to give manpower forecast for unit establishments within a 100 personnel. Which is a pretty wide margin when a through life cost of a single bed space is c £65000.
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"£25 is an amount set by HMRC for daily rates when working away from your normal place of work in the UK and should be non-taxable. It equates to £7 for lunch and £18 for an evening meal. From what I understand, an amount higher than this would be liable to taxation."
I think you'll find that these are amounts that you don't have to produce receipts for (tho they may still ask for them)
Anything ABOVE these numbers may have to be justified - but I've never heard of anything reasonable being kicked back if you have receipts an it looks OK
I think you'll find that these are amounts that you don't have to produce receipts for (tho they may still ask for them)
Anything ABOVE these numbers may have to be justified - but I've never heard of anything reasonable being kicked back if you have receipts an it looks OK