§ Mr. Maginnisasked the Minister of State for Defence how many men have been recruited into Her Majesty's Forces during each of the years 1969, 1970, 1971 and 1972, in Northern Ireland; how these figures compared with other regions in the United Kingdom and how this recruitment is made up by age categories.
§ Mr. Ian GilmourRecruitment by regions for the years 1968–69 to 1971–72 was given in my replies to the hon. Member for South Shields (Mr. Blenkinsop) in 24th May.—[Vol. 857, c.135–6.]
Recruitment by regions for the financial year 1972–73 was as follows:
Region Number of Recruits Northern Ireland 962 Northern 3,280 Yorkshire and Humberside 3,851 North Western 5,456 East Midland 2,831 West Midland 3,272 East Anglia 1,117 South Eastern 7,894 South Western 3,020 Wales 1,866 Scotland 4,671 United Kingdom Total 38,220 Recruitment by age categories in 1972–73 in Northern Ireland was as follows:
243W
Age on entry Number of Recruits Under 17 459 17 186 18 107 19 58 20 39 21 22 22 21 23 15 24 14 25 and over 41 Total 962 Similar information on age structure for previous years could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.