§ 43. Mr. Speedasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the manpower figures for the Royal Navy for 1 April 1979, 1980 and 1981, respectively, and the target figures for 1982, 1983, 1984 and 1985.
§ Mr. BlakerThe strength of the Royal Navy on 1 April 1979, 1 April 1980 and 1 April 1981 was as follows:
Number 1 April 1979 65,053 1 April 1980 64,364 1 April 1981 66,360 As stated in Cmnd. 8288, Royal Navy numbers will be reduced by between about 8,000 to 10,000 by 1986. Figures for the interim years are not yet available.