§ Mr. Meacherasked the Minister of State for Defence what percentage of officers in each of the three Services has been commissioned from the ranks; and what percentage in each Service comes from Headmasters' Conference public schools and from other independent schools, respectively.
§ Mr. Ian GilmourI regret that this information is not available without disproportionate effort. The only figures that are available are that in the period from 1st January 1970 to 31st December 1972 the percentage of officers commissioned from the ranks was 27 per cent. of all commissions in the Royal Navy and Royal Marines, 32 per cent. in the Army and 28 per cent. in the Royal Air Force.