§ Mr. James Lamondasked the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many applications were received for investment into the Army as an officer, Service man or woman and how many were rejected in each of the following years: 1975, 1976, 1977 and to the latest available date in 1978:
(2) how many applications were received for enlistment in the Royal Navy and Royal Marines as an officer, Service man or woman and how many were rejected in each of the following years: 1975, 1976, 1977 and to the latest available date in 1978.
(3) how many applications were received for enlistment into the Royal Air Force as an officer, Service man or woman and how many were rejected in each of the following years: 1975, 1976, 1977 and to the latest available date in 1978.
§ Mr. WellbelovedThe information requested is as follows:
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OFFICERS 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 to date Applied Rejected Applied Rejected Applied Rejected Applied Rejected Army—(including WRAC in brackets) … … 2,085 1,520 1,751 1,011 1,761 980 797 409 (161) (109) (184) (114) (181) (117) (61) (39) Navy— RN and Royal Marines … … 2,851 2,413 2,621 2,190 2,351 1,773 898 559 WRNS … … 77 Figures not available 123 107 70 55 31 26 QARNNS … … 65 22 87 21 71 38 15 3 Includes withdrawals Includes withdrawals Includes withdrawals Includes withdrawals RAF— Direct Entry GD Officers (Males) … … 1,238 1,122 1,586 1,342 1,852 1,631 1,840 1,618 Direct Entry Ground Officers(Males) … … 872 781 1,404 1,237 1,332 1,193 704 616 Direct Entry WRAF Officers … … 475 430 954 851 756 693 352 311 Cadetships … … 1,097 1,000 815 721 868 773 289 261 Airmen Aircrew … … 101 90 177 158 172 155 72 69 SERVICE MEN/SERVICE WOMEN 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 to date Applied Rejected Applied Rejected Applied Rejected Applied Rejected Army-(voluntary withdrawals in brackets)— … … Service men* … … 63,254 37,849 60,807 39,397 61,767 40,778 30,121 19,010 — (15,375) — (15,661) — (14,871) — (8,823) Service women† … … 12,570 9,132 12,477 10,806 11,839 10,520 5,287 4,365 — (4,011) — (4,856) — (4,812) — (2,004) Navy— … … Royal Navy … … 26,086 15,891 28,031 18,070 23,638 14,984 6,289 4,206 Royal Marines … … 4,522 2,888 3,911 2,553 4,153 2,816 1,808 1,195 WRNS … … 6,501 4,505 7,749 4,003 7,243 4,914 2,289 1,538 QARNNS … … 969 93 962 115 653 127 145 54 Includes withdrawals Includes withdrawals Includes withdrawals Includes withdrawals RAF— RAF Adult Service … … 20,197 15,143 20,161 14,783 18,576 13,340 13,359 1,940 WRAF and PMRAFNS … … 9,021 7,630 7,811 6,665 7,072 5,699 3,968 489 Apprentice Technicians … … 1,988 1,734 2,204 1,952 2,424 2,178 1,551 1,386 * Service men include adults and juniors for which there are differing rates of rejection. † Service women include WRAC and QARANC for which there are differing rates of rejection In the case of Naval officers, it is not possible to distinguish those rejected by the selection procedure from those who withdraw voluntarily, nor is it possible to separate figures for the Royal Marines from those for the Royal Navy. The rating-rank figures show those rejected by the selection procedure, except that for Naval nurses the rejection figures cannot be complete, since some applicants who applied at the age of 161 are still taking or re-taking examinations.