§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of the Army were(a) royal engineers and (b) royal electrical and mechanical engineers in (i) 1997, (ii) 1992, (iii) 1987 and (iv) 1982. [43590]
§ Mr. IngramThe figures are the percentage of Royal Engineers and Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers as a proportion of UK trained Army personnel.
Percentage Date Royal Engineers Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers April 19971 9.0 10.3 April 19921 9.7 10.0 April 19871 9.4 9.7 April 19822 9.2 9.7 1 The figures are taken from a DASA-held database of officers' and soldiers' records of service. 2 Computerised figures are not held before 1986 so these data are taken from manual records.
§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what support is given to engineers in the armed services seeking to attain chartered status. [43588]
§ Mr. IngramEngineers play a vital role within the armed forces. Training is accredited where appropriate with the relevant national awarding bodies. The successful Royal Navy engineering sponsorship scheme at Southampton university is shortly to be expanded to other universities and, to maintain the high quality of our technical officer intake across Defence as a whole, will include Army and RAF officers as well. A proportion of engineering graduates are selected each year to undertake a MSc; the number depends on the operational requirement. The holders of such higher degrees can apply for chartered status. Registration costs and the first year's membership fee are granted on a case by case basis to those whose posts require such status. However, the Engineering Technology Board, which recently superseded the Engineering Council, has revised the guidance for registration. As a result, for the majority of engineering posts in the armed forces, incorporated engineer status is more appropriate than chartered engineer.
§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many female chartered engineers, excluding reservists, there are in(a) the Royal Navy, (b) the Army, (c) the Royal Air Force and (d) the Royal Fleet Auxiliary; and what the corresponding numbers were for years (i) 1997, (ii) 1992, (iii) 1987 and (iv) 1982. [43587]
§ Mr. IngramThe number of female chartered engineers is set out in the table.
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Naval Service Army RAF 1 February 2002 2 2 7 1 April 1997 2 1 3 1 April 1992 0 0 2 There are currently no female chartered engineers in the Royal Fleet Auxiliary and there have been none in the previous years.
There were no female chartered engineers in the armed forces in 1987 and 1982.
§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many defence fellowships have been awarded to officers for the study of engineering matters since 1997. [43589]
§ Mr. IngramThe Ministry of Defence's Defence Fellowship scheme provided an opportunity for one or two Ministry of Defence personnel a year (regular officers and MOD civilians) to pursue a chosen subject of study or research of benefit to the Department, for one year at an advanced level in a British university of their choice. The scheme has now finished. In the period since 1997 none of the fellowships concerned engineering matters.
We provide a wide range of engineering training opportunities and I will write to my hon. Friend and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.