§ Mr. Amessasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he is satisfied with the number of places offered by the armed forces in the youth training scheme and with the level of acceptance of such places.
§ Mr. LeeSome 1,900 places have been made available for the current financial year covering a wide variety of trades and skills and I am satisfied with this number. By the end of February over 3,000 applications had been received for the scheme of which some 670 had been accepted. I am therefore satisfied that there is a good level of interest in the scheme. The number of applicants accepted for places in the scheme reflects the requirement for trainees to meet the normal entry standards for the armed forces since they are required to work and train alongside their regular counterparts.