HL Deb 09 March 2005 vol 670 cc82-3WA
Lord Astor of Hever

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What was the actual strength of the Army, Royal Navy, Royal Air Force, and Royal Marines on 31 March 1997 and 31 March 2004. [HL1238]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Bach)

The information requested is given in the table below.

Figures are for UK Regular Forces, including both trained and untrained personnel; and therefore exclude Gurkhas, full-time Reserve Service personnel, the Home Service battalions of the Royal Irish Regiment, mobilised reservists and naval activated reservists.

Strength of UK Regular Service personnel on 1 April 1997 and 1 April 2004
Service 1 April 1997 1 April 2004
Royal Navy
Officers 7,220 7,030
Other Ranks 31,230 26,610
Total 38,450 33,640
Royal Marines
Officers 700 740
Other Ranks 6,000 6,510
Total 6,700 7,240
Army
Officers 13,720 14,720
Other Ranks 95,090 98,030
Total 108,810 112,750
Royal Air Force
Officers 11,040 10,960
Other Ranks 45,830 42,430
Total 56,870 53,390

All figures are rounded to the nearest 10. Numbers ending in "5" have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias. Due to the rounding methods used totals may not always equal the sum of the parts.