§ 15. Mr. Gowasked the Secretary of State for Defence how many officers and 1326 men left the Armed Forces of the Crown during the first four months of 1978; what were the equivalent figures for the first four months of 1977 and 1976; and whether he is satisfied with the present strength of the Armed Forces.
§ Mr. MulleyFigures for all three Services up to the end of April are not yet available. The number of officers and men who left the Armed Forces during the three months January-March in each of the last three years was: 1976, 11,105; 1977, 10,967; 1978, 11,166.
The trained strength of all three Services is generally in line with present requirements and I am confident that the Services are able to meet their commitments.
§ Mr. GowIs it not a matter of great convenience for the Secretary of State that the first figure for which he was asked is not available? Is it not the case that when that figure is available it will reveal a most disquieting trend? Does he understand that unless he substantially increases the pay of the Armed Forces the erosion in their numbers will continue?
§ Mr. MulleyI do not think that it is unreasonable that the first figure for which I was asked is not to hand, since it could have been available only three weeks ago. I will see that the figures are published as soon as possible. I do not think that the overall position is anywhere near as bad as some Tory Members suggest, but there is no room for complacency. There is concern about shortages and the failure to recruit some key personnel, particularly pilots—where the standard is very high—enginers, and so on. I assure the hon. Gentleman that we are extremely concerned about the trend and will do all that we can to abate the outflow.