§ Captain Kerbyasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will give comparable figures for re-engagement rates for the year 1965–66 to those quoted in the Defence Review of this year for the Army, the Royal Air Force, the Royal Marines, and the Royal Navy, respectively.
§ Mr. J. P. W. MallalieuIn the case of the Army there is no change.
As a result of an unexpected upsurge in re-engagements in the first quarter of 1966, the figure for the Royal Air Force over the year 1965–66 as a whole was 72 per cent. of what was needed.
The figures for the Royal Navy were 46 per cent. of the men who completed an initial 12 year engagement, and 23 per cent. of the men who completed an initial 9 year engagement. For the Royal Marines the figures were 50 per cent. and 20 per cent. respectively. We wanted 65 per cent of the 12-year men and 50 per cent. of the 9-year men.