§ Mr. Gwilym Robertsasked the Secretary of State for Defence what is the latest average cost of recruiting a member of Her Majesty's Forces; what were the figures for the Army, the Royal Navy and the RAF, respectively; what was the total amount spent by his Department on recruitment; what further steps he is taking to improve the efficiency of recruiting methods; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. WellbelovedI have nothing to add to the figures for 1976–77 I gave to the hon. Member on 2nd May.
Total expenditure on recruiting activities in 1977–78 is to be reduced by up to approximately £2 million and by some £5 million in 1978–79. These economies will involve substantial reductions in the numbers of recruiting staff 539W and premises as well as cuts in expenditure on advertising and other publicity.—[Vol. 931, c. 51–2.]
§ Mr. Gwilym Robertsasked the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what are the latest figures available for the average number of recruits per week enlisted through Army, Royal Navy and RAF recruiting offices; and in how many of these offices the average number of recruits enlisted was less than five, less than three and less than one, respectively;
(2) what are the latest figures for the number of recruitment inquiries made per week at Army, Royal Navy and RAF recruiting offices; and in how many of these offices there were on average less than 10 inquiries a week.
§ Mr. WellbelovedThe latest available figures are those which I gave to my hon. Friend in reply to his question of 4th April 1977.
There is no reason to believe that the pattern of inquiries and recruits has changed significantly over the last three months.