§ 63. Mr. Arnold Shawasked the Secretary of State for Defence whether he will take steps to ensure that in the planned reduction in the armed forces redundancies in the higher ranks will proceed in line with those in the other ranks.
§ Mr. Reynolds:We intend to ensure that the Forces maintain an appropriate balance between the ranks.
Royal Navy Royal Marina Army Royal Air Force Total October, 1964 Men … … … 86,016 9,348 186,894 127,252 409,510 Women … … … 3,461 — 6,520 5,656 15,637 October, 1967 Men … … … 83,559 9,351 188,898 116,451 398,259 Women … … … 3,789 — 6,237 5,454 15,480 These numbers exclude members of forces enlisted outside the United Kingdom.