§ Mr. Speedasked the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of manpower savings in the Royal Navy, the Army and the Royal Air Force will be achieved by natural wastage, by control of recruitment rates and by compulsory redundancies, respectively.
§ Mr. BlakerMost of the planned reduction by 1986 of 8,000–10,000 in the Royal Navy and about 7,000 in the Army will be effected by natural wastage and control of recruitment, but the precise extent of the savings to come from each of the methods of reducing manpower will not be known until detailed studies of future requirements are completed. This will not be for some time, but on the basis of Royal Navy numbers already known or expected to be surplus to requirements by 31 March 1984, applications for redundancies have now been invited for some categories. Around 500 officers and ratings are expected to be involved in this first phase. Applications will be sought for the first phase of redundancies from the Army next year. No redundancies are expected to be necessary in the RAF.