Mr. O'NeillTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many men and women were recruited to the Army, the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force in 1985, 1986, 1987 and 1988; how many left each of the services prematurely; and what the average length of service was for each.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonInformation on premature wastage is not readily available for calendar years but is available for financial years. The total intakes to the United Kingdom regular forces in financial years 1985-86 to 1988-89 are detailed in table 1. The total numbers of exits from the services under premature wastage outflow categories during the same period are detailed in table 2. The categories included in the outflow numbers are those listed in table 4.18 of volume 2 of the "Statement on the Defence Estimates" with the exception of "Time and age expiries or exercise of rights at option point" and for service women only "By exercise of right to give 18 months notice". Details of average length of service could not be produced without disproportionate cost.
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Total Males Females Total Officers Servicemen Total Officers Servicewomen Royal Air Force 1985–86 7,014 6,154 792 5,362 860 144 716 1986–87 7,562 6,405 904 5,501 1,157 170 987 1987–88 6,613 5,728 786 4,942 885 188 697 1988–89 6,280 5,406 585 4,821 874 183 691
Table 2—Premature outflow from United Kingdom Regular Forces Number Total Males Females Total Officers Servicemen Total Officers Servicewomen All Services 1985–86 22,407 20,413 2,303 18,110 1,994 150 1,844 1986–87 21,901 19,911 2,286 17,625 1,990 152 1,838 1987–88 22,474 20,383 2,191 18,192 2,091 153 1,938 1988–89 24,251 22,452 2,187 20,265 1,799 162 1,637 Royal Navy 1985–86 4,700 4,344 369 3,975 356 17 339 1986–87 4,702 4,332 380 3,952 370 17 353 1987–88 4,145 3,760 389 3,371 385 20 365 1988–89 4,091 3,747 409 3,338 344 17 327 Royal Marines 1985–86 809 809 36 773 — — — 1986–87 831 831 39 792 — — — 1987–88 777 777 27 750 — — — 1988-89 766 766 38 728 — — — Army 1985–86 12,680 11.657 1,335 10,322 1,023 76 947 1986–87 12,343 11,401 1,287 10,114 942 49 893 1987–88 13,508 12,492 1,256 11,236 1,016 65 951 1988–89 14,233 13,490 1,139 12,351 743 58 685 Royal Air Force 1985–86 4,218 3,603 563 3,040 615 57 558 1986–87 4,025 3,347 580 2,767 678 86 592 1987–88 4,044 3,354 519 2,835 690 68 622 1988–89 5,161 4,449 601 3,848 712 87 625 916W917W
Number Financial years 1 April to 31 December 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1987 1968 All Services 31,926 34,554 36,521 36,961 36,938 27,167 28,964 Male officers 3,372 3,194 3,388 3,258 3,374 2,660 2,643 Commissioned officers 2,829 2,577 2,678 2,492 2,690 2,126 2,168 Time and age expiries or exercise of right at option point 1,276 1,106 1,085 972 1,183 912 898 Premature release at own request1 917 1,094 1,223 1,121 1,154 952 969 Redundancies 308 10 7 6 — — — Medical reasons and deaths 102 104 110 106 91 76 89 Other reasons 226 263 253 287 262 186 212 Officers designate 543 617 710 766 684 534 475 At own request 84 73 119 127 110 75 95 Medical reasons and deaths 13 12 8 26 20 12 6 Other reasons 446 532 583 613 554 447 374 Servicemen 26,096 28,901 30,493 30,936 30,660 22,376 24,304 Before completion of 6 months service 5,580 5,925 5,437 6,299 6,535 4,541 4,844 By exercise of right 3,655 4,009 3,863 4,414 4,372 3,008 3,379 Unsatisfactory, disciplinary and other reasons 1,805 1,695 1,429 1,721 2,030 1,439 1,350 Medical reasons and deaths 116 215 144 161 132 93 114 Compassionate release 4 6 1 3 1 1 1 After completion of 6 months service 20,516 22,976 25,056 24,637 24,145 17,835 19,460 Time and age expiries or exercise of right at option point 10,779 11,501 12,383 13,311 12,468 9,269 9,556
Financial years 1 April to 31 December 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1987 1988 Premature release at own request1 4,221 6,113 7,215 6,742 7,052 5,181 6,275 Redundancies 346 422 505 147 26 10 — Unsatisfactory, disciplinary and other reasons 4,010 3,538 3,379 3,067 3,152 2,334 2,382 Medical reasons and deaths 948 1,194 1,408 1,197 1,254 938 1,122 Compassionate release 212 208 166 173 143 103 125 Female officers2 304 298 351 334 328 251 259 Time and age expiries or exercise of right at option point 165 162 201 182 175 124 135 At own request 112 108 110 120 120 100 102 Medical reasons and deaths 6 12 3 7 5 5 4 Other reasons 21 16 37 25 28 22 188 Servicewomen 2,154 2,161 2,289 2,433 2,556 1,80 1,758 Time and age expiries or exercise of right at option point 68 58 96 136 167 124 119 By exercise of right to give 18 months notice 308 305 349 459 451 289 351 At own request 329 307 296 373 358 254 279 Marriage, pregnancy 1,199 1,261 1,325 1,171 1,247 974 822 Unsatisfactory, disciplinary and other reasons 198 185 182 237 267 185 151 Medical reasons and deaths 43 41 36 53 61 49 32 Compassionate release 9 4 5 4 5 5 4 1 The numbers shown as premature release at own request, for both officers and servicemen, relate only to trained personnel. 2 As the numbers for female officers designate are small, they have been included in those for female officers.