§ Mr. DonohoeTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many military recruiting establishments are currently operating throughout the United Kingdom; how many of these lie in Scotland; how many recruits have been recruited through these facilities; what plans he has to rationalise these facilities; and what is the annual cost of operating these facilities.
§ Mr. HanleyAt present, there are 251 service careers information offices in the United Kingdom. Of these, 31 are located in Scotland. In the financial year 1993–94, 10,494 personnel were recruited, of whom, 1,117 were recruited in Scotland. These recruiting figures reflect reduced targets as a result of the force restructuring under "Options for Change". The operating costs of the CIOs totalled £45,090,000 in financial year 1993–94, of which £5,320,000 related to the offices in Scotland.
It is our policy to collocate CIOs in bi-service or tri-service premises wherever practicable and cost-effective. Many CIOs are already collocated and future requirements are kept under regular review. In addition, recruitment arrangements are being considered as part of the "Defence Costs Study".