HC Deb 19 July 1999 vol 335 cc424-5W
Mr. Robathan

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the current state of officer recruiting and retention. [90219]

Mr. Doug Henderson

Officer recruitment to the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force is encouraging. Officer recruitment to the Royal Navy was 3 per cent. higher in the year 1998–99 than in the previous year, and was 8 per cent. higher for the RAF. Officer recruitment to the Army, however, fell 23 per cent. during the same period, and addressing this is an important priority. As part of this work, we have introduced enhanced bursary and sponsorship schemes to increase the attraction of an Army career to potential officers.