§ 35. Mr. PatersonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on Army recruitment. [127291]
§ Mr. SpellarThe Army achieved 15,026 soldier enlistments during the last financial year. This was lower than the numbers enlisted in 1998–99 (15,609), but output to the Field Army in 1999–2000, which is the more important figure, was up by over 1,000 on the previous year. This is partly as a result of changes made to the selection criteria for new entrants and other changes introduced in the initial training regime. In respect of Officer recruiting, the numbers entering Sandhurst last year were 646 and output from the College was 534 against targets of 777 and 620 respectively. However, this year, the Army expects that numbers entering Sandhurst will be on target. Also the numbers of inquiries for officer careers are up on previous periods, as is the number of successful candidates at the Regular Commissions Board, which is a precursor to Sandhurst entry. Advertising for Army careers, for both soldier and officer candidates, is being more specifically targeted this year.