§ Mr. RogersTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what was the percentage of Army personnel who had(a) mechanical engineering skills, (b) electrical engineering skills, (c) civil engineering skills, (d) mechanical transport skills and (e) communications skills in each year since 1985;
(2) what is the current percentage of Army personnel who have (a) mechanical engineering skills, (b) electrical engineering skills, (c) civil engineering skills, (d) mechanical transport skills and (e) communications skills;
(3) for each financial year since 1985–86 how many of those Army personnel who left the service prematurely had (a) mechanical engineering skills, (b) electrical engineering skills, (c) civil engineering skills, (d) mechanical transport skills and (e) communication skills.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonThe following information is based upon personnel numbers in the relevant corps. The Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) employ personnel with both mechanical and electrical engineering skills. The Royal Engineers (RE) employ personnel with civil engineering skills; the Royal Corps of Transport (RCT) employ personnel with mechanical transport skills; and the Royal Signals (R Sigs) employ personnel with communications skills.
(a) Strength as at 31 March 1990, of REME, RE, RCT and R Sigs as a percentage of whole Army1 REME RE RCT R Sigs 10.4 9.9 6.9 8.3
(b) Strength of REME, RE, RCT and R Sigs as a percentage of whole Army 1985–86 to 1989–90 REME RE RCT R Sigs 1985–86 10.0 9.7 7.3 8.8 1986–87 10.0 9.8 7.2 8.9 1987–88 10.2 9.8 6.9 8.8 1988–89 10.3 9.8 6.8 8.5 1989–90 10.4 9.8 6.9 8.3
(c) Premature voluntary release exits of trained male Army and of REME, RE, RCT and R Sigs: 1985–86 to 1989–90 Whole Army REME RE RCT RSigs 1985–86 3,587 320 408 259 259 1986–87 3,224 335 319 230 235 1987–88 3,905 332 409 371 317 1988–89 4,545 379 505 369 473 1989–90 4,773 495 557 429 348 1 Figures relate to trained male strength.