§ Mr. Georgeasked the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of the Armed Forces are women; how this compares with each of the other members of NATO; and what are the estimated percentages over the next five years.
§ Mr. GoodhartWomen represent 5 per cent. of the United Kingdom's Armed Forces—16,857 out of 334,203. The approximate percentages for other NATO members are as follows: 419W
percentage USA 6.5 Canada 7 France 2 Denmark 1.5 Netherlands 1 Belgium 2 The remaining NATO nations either have no women in their armed forces or a few women in specialist posts.
Although there is likely to be a small increase in the number of women recruited over the next five years, this will not significantly change the overall percentage of women in the Armed Forces of the United Kingdom. We cannot comment on the future manning policy of our NATO allies.
§ Mr. Georgeasked the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made on arming women, announced in the last defence White Paper; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. GoodhartI refer the hon. Member to the announcement made by the present Leader of the House on 2 December 1980—[Vol. 995, c. 193–5]—and paragraph 725 of the statement on the Defence Estimates 1981 (Cmnd. 8212).
The Army has now decided that members of the Women's Royal Army Corps will be given basic training on sub-machine guns. In the Royal Air Rorce a study on the arming of women is under way at four stations.
§ Mr. Georgeasked the Secretary of State for Defence if it is his policy to encourage women to enter those areas of the Armed Services traditionally and predominantly male.
§ Mr. GoodhartOur policy, in common with that of our NATO allies, is that women should not be employed in direct combat roles. This means that there are necessarily limits on the range of jobs open to them in the Armed Services. However, it is our policy to encourage women to enter a wide range of areas of non-combatant employment.
§ Mr. Georgeasked the Secretary of State for Defence if his Department has conducted any surveys to find out the number of women qualified and interested in enlisting in the Armed Forces.
§ Mr. GoodhartNo. We have no difficulty in recruiting as many Service women as we need, and surveys of this kind would therefore serve no purpose.
§ Mr. Georgeasked the Secretary of State for Defence how many women are employed in the Armed Services; and if he will give a detailed breakdown.
§ Mr. GoodhartA total of 16,857 women were employed in the Armed Forces at 28 February 1981, the latest date for which figures are available. The detailed breakdown is as follows:
420W
Officers Service women Women's Royal Naval Service 309 3,027 Queen Alexandra's Royal Naval Nursing Service 153 543 Women's Royal Army Corps 410 4,487 Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps 542 1,121 Women's Royal Air Force 505 5,042
Officers Service women Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service 239 479 These figures do not include reserves or auxiliaries. They also exclude 85 women serving as medical, dental, veterinary and legal officers who are commissioned into their respective branches rather than into the women's Services.
§ Mr. Georgeasked the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of women employed in the Armed Services leave each year; and how this compares with the number of men leaving the services.
§ Mr. GoodhartIn 1979–80, 3,577 women left the Armed Forces—23 per cent. of the strength at 1 April 1979. The outflow figure for men was 41,465–14 per cent. of the strength at 1 April 1979.