§ 12. Mr. Bill WalkerTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will give details of the number of boys and girls in membership of the air cadets in the years (a) 1979, (b) 1989 and (c) 1992.
§ Mr. HanleySince 1979, the number of air cadets has remained constant at around 49,000. Whereas there were no girls in the air cadets in 1979, there were more than 9,000 in 1989 and just over 11,000 in 1992.
§ Mr. WalkerI thank my hon. Friend for his answer. Can he confirm—bearing in mind "Front Line First" and the interests of the air cadets—that an important aspect of recruitment and retention is flying and gliding experience? Will that be taken into account in "Front Line First", so that there is no reduction in the number of air cadets?
§ Mr. HanleyI pay tribute to my hon. Friend, who devotes a great deal of time and effort to helping the air cadet organisation. A key objective of the organisation is to provide young people with flying experience, and there is no intention to lose sight of that. Every air cadet currently has an opportunity to fly, and will continue to be given that opportunity. I hope that my answer has helped to reassure my hon. Friend.
§ Mr. Tony BanksI was a flight sergeant in the air training corps, and look how I ended up! Would not it be better to encourage our young people to join the Scouts, Guides, Cubs, Brownies or Woodcraft folk and to teach them about getting on with people and about peace and love rather than preparing them for war?
§ Mr. HanleyThe United Kingdom's cadet forces provide a useful service. In inner cities, they give excellent training to many young people who find it difficult to have any other structure. I have a sneaking suspicion that the hon. Gentleman's high-flying days were long ago.