From: DCDS Pers Secretariat 
Zone D, Sixth Floor, 
        
MINISTRY OF DEFENCE       
Main Building, London, SW1A 2HB. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
M Sykes 
Our Reference: 
[[FOI #32732 email]] 
FOI – 20-04-2010-122359-001 
 
  
Date: 24 August 2010 
 
 
 
 
Dear M Sykes, 
 
Thank you for your e-mail of 22 August 2010 regarding your request for information.  You 
requested, after clarification: 
 
Please advise the number of Armed Forces uniformed personnel above 
the rank of Sqn. Ldr. or equivalent RN Army, in receipt of pay of 
£50,000 or more per annum. 
 
Please accept my sincere apologies for the delay in providing a response. 
 
You may be interested to know that information on the pay of our armed forces and the number 
contained within each rank are already in the public domain and regularly published on the 
website  www.dasa.mod.uk (for numbers within a specific rank for each Service) and in the 
Armed Forces Pay Review Body – Thirty Ninth Report 2010, that is available at 
http://www.ome.uk.com/AFPRB_Reports.aspx 
 
Ordinarily we would look to invoke the absolute exemption of s.21 of the Freedom of Information 
Act.  However, due to the fact that you have had to wait for a period of time much longer than we 
would have expected.  I have reproduced the relevant tables here with some explanatory notes: 
 
   
 United Kingdom Regular Forces Rank Structure at 1 April 2010 
 
 
Naval Service 
Army 
Royal Air Force 
OF 6 – OF 9 
120
240
130
OF 5 
290
600
340
OF 4 
1,140
1,770
1,210
OF 3  
2,260
4,700
2,570
Total 3,810
7,310
4,250
 
OF 6 – OF 9   = 
Officers holding the ranks of Commodore, Brigadier, Air Commodore  
and above. 
OF 5    
= 
Officers holding the rank of Captain (RN), Colonel, Group Captain 
OF 4   
= 
Officers holding the rank of Commander, Lieutenant Colonel, Wing  
Commander 
 OF 3   
= 
Officers holding the rank of Lieutenant Commander, Major, Squadron  
Leader 
 

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Recommended Annual Scales for Officers up to and Including Commodore, Brigadier and 
Air Commodore (Up to OF 6) 
 
Rank  
Military 
Salary 
OF 6 
Level 5 
100,964 
 Level 
4 
99,973 
 Level 
3 
98,995 
 Level 
2 
98,013 
 Level 
1 
97,030 
 
 
 
OF 5 
Level 9 
89,408 
 Level 
8 
88,294 
 Level 
7 
87,379 
 Level 
6 
86,368 
 Level 
5 
85,357 
 Level 
4 
84,347 
 Level 
3 
,83,336 
 Level 
2 
82,321 
 Level 
1 
81,310 
 
 
 
OF 4 
Level 9 
77,617 
 Level 
8 
76,613 
 Level 
7 
75,609 
 Level 
6 
74,614 
 Level 
5 
70,562 
 Level 
4 
69,681 
 Level 
3 
68,801 
 Level 
2 
67,920 
 Level 
1 
67,032 
 
 
 
OF 3 
Level 9 
57,199 
 Level 
8 
56,016 
 Level 
7 
54,841 
 Level 
6 
53,661 
 Level 
5 
52,474 
 Level 
4 
51,298 
 Level 
3 
50,111 
 Level 
2 
48,940 
 Level 
1 
47,760 
 
These recommendations were accepted and implemented in full in April 2010 
 
I hope that you find this helpful and once again send my apologies for the delay. 
 
Yours sincerely 
 
 
Deputy Chief of Defence Staff – Personnel (Secretariat) 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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If you are not satisfied with this response or you wish to complain about any aspect of the 
handling of your request, then you should contact me in the first instance. If informal resolution is 
not possible and you are still dissatisfied then you may apply for an independent internal review 
by contacting the Head of Corporate Information, 1st Floor, Zone N, MOD Main Building, 
Whitehall, SW1A 2HB (e-mail [email address]). Please note that any request for an internal 
review must be made within 40 working days of the date on which the attempt to reach informal 
resolution has come to an end. 
 
If you remain dissatisfied following an internal review, you may take your complaint to the 
Information Commissioner under the provisions of Section 50 of the Freedom of Information Act. 
Please note that the Information Commissioner will not investigate your case until the MOD 
internal review process has been completed. Further details of the role and powers of the 
Information Commissioner can be found on the Commissioner's website, http://www.ico.gov.uk. 
 

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