HC Deb 09 July 1990 vol 176 cc40-7W
Mr. O'Neill

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many men and women were recruited into the Army, the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force in each financial year since 1969; and how many left each of the services prematurely.

Mr. Archie Hamilton

[holding answer 2 July 1990]: Information on intake and premature wastage in the years before 1971–72 is not available in the form requested. The total intakes to the United Kingdom regular forces in each financial year since 1971–72 are shown in table 1 below. The total numbers of exits from the services under premature wastage outflow categories during the same period are shown in table 2. The categories included in the outflow numbers are those listed in table 4.18 of volume 2 of the Statement on the Defence Estimates (Cm. 1022–11) with the exception of "Time and age expires or exercise of rights at option point" and for service women only "By exercise of right to give 18 months notice". Individual service officer premature outflow figures for 1989–90 have been amended from those given in the answer to the hon. Member for Rhondda (Mr. Rogers) on 5 June at columns 426–28 which, regrettably, contained a number of errors in compilation.

Males Females
Total number Total Officers Servicemen Total Officers Servicewomen
1978–79 43,366 38,774 2,110 36,664 4,592 280 4,312
1979–80 50,652 46,206 2,547 43,659 4,446 333 4,113
1980–81 50,488 46,693 2,924 43,769 3,795 409 3,386
1981–82 22,607 21,188 2,319 18,869 1,419 282 1,137
1982–83 21,647 19,342 2,136 17,206 2,305 232 2,073
1983–84 36,991 33,760 2,544 31,216 3,231 305 2,926
1984–85 34,721 32,076 2,716 29,360 2,645 300 2,345
1985–86 32,651 30,407 2,799 27,608 2,244 327 1,917
1986–87 34,049 31,147 2,920 28,227 2,902 360 2,542
1987–88 33,826 31,215 2,548 28,667 2,611 362 2,249
1988–89 33,863 30,862 2,262 28,600 3,001 361 2,640
1989–90 36,412 32,337 2,599 29,738 4,075 376 3,699
Royal Navy
1971–72 10,846 9,667 492 9,175 1,179 51 1,128
1972–73 11,034 9,865 536 9,329 1,169 67 1,102
1973–74 8,065 6,983 493 6,490 1,082 60 1,022
1974–75 9,802 8,723 470 8,253 1,079 42 1,037
1975–76 8,910 7,732 488 7,244 1,178 35 1,143
1976–77 8,195 7,238 485 6,753 957 34 923
1977–78 7,167 6,269 487 5,782 898 42 856
1978–79 6,791 5,978 533 5,445 813 27 786
1979–80 8,526 7,701 649 7,052 825 22 803
1980–81 9,088 8,130 685 7,445 958 47 911
1981–82 3,805 3,353 400 2,953 452 18 434
1982–83 3,584 3,078 395 2,683 506 13 493
1983–84 4,785 4,223 445 3,778 562 8 554
1984–85 4,582 4,231 537 3,694 351 14 337
1985–86 4,276 3,987 568 3,419 289 32 257
1986–87 5,336 4,791 592 4,199 545 36 509
1987–88 5,181 4,601 455 4,146 580 26 554
1988–89 5,298 4,598 484 4,114 700 31 669
1989–90 5,556 4,696 516 4,180 860 42 818
Royal Marines
1971–72 Included in Royal Navy figures
1972–73
1973–74
1974–75
1975–76 1,154 1,154 46 1,108 — — —
1976–77 929 929 46 883 — — —
1977–78 903 903 48 855 — — —
1978–79 1,282 1,282 51 1,231 — — —
1979–80 1,676 1,676 42 1,634 — — —
1980–81 1,674 1,674 69 1,605 — — —
1981–82 699 699 52 647 — — —
1982–83 447 447 28 419 — — —
1983–84 447 447 33 414 — — —
1984–85 954 954 43 911 — — —
1985–86 1,093 1,093 65 1,028 — — —
1986–87 1,233 1,233 62 1,171 — — —
1987–88 991 991 53 938 — — —
1988–89 937 937 43 894 — — —
1989–90 1,063 1,063 45 1,018 — — —
Army
1971–72 34,303 31,298 865 30,433 3,005 180 2,825
1972–73 28,862 26,484 750 25,734 2,378 172 2,206
1973–74 17,554 15,310 822 14,488 2,244 157 2,087
1974–75 24,264 22,041 997 21,044 2,223 134 2,089
1975–76 29,591 27,238 1,096 26,142 2,353 145 2,208
1976–77 24,088 22,344 1,003 21,341 1,744 134 1,610
1977–78 22,550 20,868 1,020 19,848 1,682 149 1,533
1978–79 25,254 23,528 1,021 22,507 1,726 156 1,570
1979–80 29,189 27,164 1,127 26,037 2,025 154 1,871
1980–81 28,871 27,241 1,285 25,956 1,630 204 1,426
1981–82 14,204 13,603 1,198 12,405 601 148 453
1982–83 13,071 11,679 1,157 10,522 1,392 132 1,260
1983–84 22,348 20,811 1,295 19,516 1,537 173 1,364
1984–85 22,278 20,914 1,435 19,479 1,364 160 1,204
1985–86 20,268 19,173 1,374 17,799 1,095 151 944
1986–87 19,918 18,718 1,362 17,356 1,200 154 1,046
1987–88 21,041 19,895 1,254 18,641 1,146 148 998
1988–89 21,348 19,921 1,150 18,771 1,427 147 1,280
1989–90 22,084 20,398 1,377 19,021 1,686 177 1,509
Royal Air Force

Males Females
Total number Total Officers Servicemen Total Officers Servicewomen
1971–72 10,305 7,911 1,021 6,890 2,394 161 2,233
1972–73 6,428 4,658 703 3,955 1,770 120 1,650
1973–74 6,814 5,429 606 4,823 1,385 99 1,286
1974–75 8,170 6,088 423 5,665 2,082 97 1,985
1975–76 7,251 5,562 252 5,310 1,689 73 1,616
1976–77 7,032 5,879 473 5,406 1,153 152 1,001
1977–78 7,617 6,148 402 5,746 1,469 106 1,363
1978–79 10,039 7,986 505 7,481 2,053 97 1,956
1979–80 11,261 9,665 729 8,936 1,596 157 1,439
1980–81 10,855 9,648 885 8,763 1,207 158 1,049
1981–82 3,899 3,533 669 2,864 366 116 250
1982–83 4,545 4,138 556 3,582 407 87 320
1983–84 9,411 8,279 771 7,508 1,132 124 1,008
1984–85 6,907 5,977 701 5,276 930 126 804
1985–86 7,014 6,154 792 5,362 860 144 716
1986–87 7,562 6,405 904 5,501 1,157 170 987
1987–88 6,613 5,728 786 4,942 885 188 697
1988–89 6,280 5,406 585 4,821 874 183 691
1989–90 7,709 6,180 661 5,519 1,529 157 1,372

Table 2 Premature outflow from United Kingdom regular forces
Number
Total Males Total Officers Servicemen Females Total Officers Servicemen
All Services
1971–72 33,822 28,806 1,950 26,856 5,016 245 4,771
1972–73 34,248 29,324 2,136 27,188 4,924 233 4,691
1973–74 31,164 26,624 2,355 24,269 4,540 215 4,325
1974–75 32,764 28,406 1,953 26,453 4,358 194 4,164
1975–76 30,089 26,259 2,433 23,826 3,830 188 3,642
1976–77 29,121 25,733 2,599 23,134 3,388 176 3,212
1977–78 30,951 27,810 2,707 25,103 3,141 168 2,973
1978–79 33,702 30,544 2,570 27,974 3,158 159 2,999
1979–80 30,861 28,068 2,098 25,970 2,793 146 2,647
1980–81 25,313 22,884 1,810 21,074 2,429 144 2,285
1981–82 18,932 16,905 1,948 14,957 2,027 170 1,857
1982–83 16,838 14,879 1,971 12,908 1,959 142 1,817
1983–84 19,330 17,413 2,096 15,317 1,917 139 1,778
1984–85 21,422 19,488 2,088 17,400 1,934 136 1,798
1985–86 22,407 20,413 2,303 18,110 1,994 150 1,844
1986–87 21,901 19,911 2,286 17,625 1,990 152 1,838
1987–88 22,474 20,383 2,191 18,192 2,091 153 1,938
1988–89 24,251 22,452 2,187 20,265 1,799 162 1,637
1989–90 27,184 25,006 2,460 22,546 2,178 184 1,994
Royal Navy
1971–72 6,050 5,218 415 4,803 832 42 790
1972–73 7,396 6,533 551 5,982 863 53 810
1973–74 5,875 5,004 378 4,626 871 40 831
1974–75 6,698 5,901 430 5,471 797 50 747
1975–76 5,549 4,688 375 4,313 861 37 824
1976–77 5,038 4,278 388 3,890 760 35 725
1977–78 5,138 4,437 491 3,946 701 35 666
1978–79 7,305 6,584 457 6,127 721 36 685
1979–80 7,073 6,497 442 6,055 576 20 556
1980–81 5,675 5,092 387 4,705 583 24 559
1981–82 4,275 3,864 409 3,455 411 31 380
1982–83 3,004 2,635 406 2,229 369 30 339
1983–84 3,448 3,007 473 2,534 441 44 397
1984–85 3,786 3,394 329 3,065 392 17 375
1985–86 4,700 4,344 369 3,975 356 17 339
1986–87 4,702 4,332 380 3,952 370 17 353
1987–88 4,145 3,760 389 3,371 385 20 365
1988–89 4,091 3,747 409 3,338 344 17 327
1989–90 4,963 4,576 469 4,107 387 21 366
Royal Marines
1971–72 930 930 33 897 — — —
1972–73 997 997 39 958 — — —
1973–74 1,075 1,075 38 1,037 — — —
1974–75 1,134 1,134 40 1,094 — — —
1975–76 843 843 38 805 — — —
1976–77 728 728 38 690 — — —
1977–78 889 889 42 847 — — —

Total Males Total Officers Servicemen Females Total Officers Servicemen
1978–79 1,100 1,100 43 1,057 — — —
1979–80 1,344 1,344 28 1,316 — — —
1980–81 1,123 1,123 27 1,096 — — —
1981–82 573 573 37 536 — — —
1982–83 434 434 33 401 — — —
1983–84 492 492 37 455 — — —
1984–85 658 658 33 625 — — —
1985–86 809 809 36 773 — — —
1986–87 831 831 39 792 — — —
1987–88 777 777 27 750 — — —
1988–89 766 766 38 728 — — —
1989–90 834 834 48 786 — — —
Army
1971–72 20,953 18,718 913 17,805 2,235 92 2,143
1972–73 19,523 17,341 833 16,508 2,182 72 2,110
1973–74 16,613 14,561 818 13,743 2,052 96 1,956
1974–75 18,311 16,362 701 15,661 1,949 57 1,892
1975–76 17,379 15,757 1,047 14,710 1,622 79 1,543
1976–77 17,383 15,947 1,202 14,745 1,436 70 1,366
1977–78 19,039 17,704 1,432 16,272 1,335 71 1,264
1978–79 20,659 19,349 1,522 17,827 1,310 67 1,243
1979–80 17,471 16,244 1,180 15,064 1,227 85 1,142
1980–81 14,366 13,354 1,013 12,341 1,012 66 946
1981–82 10,852 9,904 1,051 8,853 948 67 881
1982–83 10,061 9,106 1,025 8,081 955 58 897
1983–84 12,025 11,165 1,133 10,032 860 43 817
1984–85 13,126 12,186 1,205 10,981 940 66 874
1985–86 12,680 11,657 1,335 10,322 1,023 76 947
1986–87 12,343 11,401 1,287 10,114 942 49 893
1987–88 13,508 12,492 1,256 11,236 1,016 65 951
1988–89 14,233 13,490 1,139 12,351 743 58 685
1989–90 15,267 14,393 1,332 13,061 874 71 803
Royal Air Force
1971–72 5,889 3,940 589 3,351 1,949 111 1,838
1972–73 6,332 4,453 713 3,740 1,879 108 1,771
1973–74 7,601 5,984 1,121 4,863 1,617 79 1,538
1974–75 6,621 5,009 782 4,227 1,612 87 1,525
1975–76 6,318 4,971 973 3,998 1,347 72 1,275
1976–77 5,972 4,780 971 3,809 1,192 71 1,121
1977–78 5,885 4,780 742 4,038 1,105 62 1,043
1978–79 4,638 3,511 548 2,963 1,127 56 1,071
1979–80 4,973 3,983 448 3,535 990 41 949
1980–81 4,149 3,315 383 2,932 834 54 780
1981–82 3,232 2,564 451 2,113 668 72 596
1982–83 3,339 2,704 507 2,197 635 54 581
1983–84 3,365 2,749 453 2,296 616 52 564
1984–85 3,852 3,250 521 2,729 602 53 549
1985–86 4,218 3,603 563 3,040 615 57 558
1986–87 4,025 3,347 580 2,767 678 86 592
1987–88 4,044 3,354 519 2,835 690 68 622
1988–89 5,161 4,449 601 3,848 712 87 625
1989–90 6,120 5,203 611 4,592 917 92 825

Outflow of United Kingdom Regular Forces: by category
Number
Financial years 1 April—31 December
1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1988 1989
All Services 34,554 36,521 36,961 36,938 39,278 28,964 31,987
Male officers 3,194 3,388 3,258 3,374 3,369 2,643 2,865
Commissioned officers 2,577 2,678 2,492 2,690 2,747 2,168 2,272
Time and age expiries or exercise of right at option point 1,106 1,085 972 1,183 1,182 898 942
Premature release at own request1 1,094 1,223 1,121 1,154 1,160 969 1,044
Redundancies 10 7 6 — — — —
Medical reasons and deaths 104 110 106 91 110 89 77
Unsatisfactory, disciplinary and other reasons 263 253 287 262 295 212 209

Financial years 1 April—31 December
1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1988 1989
Officers designate 617 710 766 684 622 475 593
At own request 73 119 127 110 128 95 101
Medical reasons and deaths 12 8 26 20 9 6 25
Other reasons 532 583 613 554 485 374 456
Servicemen 28,901 30,493 30,936 30,680 33,187 24,304 26,846
Before completion of 6 months service 5,925 5,437 6,299 6,535 6,676 4,844 5,629
By exercise of right 4,009 3,863 4,414 4,372 4,716 3,379 3,828
Unsatisfactory, disciplinary and other reasons 1,695 1,429 1,721 2,030 1,799 1,350 1,637
Medical reasons and deaths 215 144 161 132 157 114 154
Compassionate release 6 1 3 1 4 1 10
After completion of 6 months service 22,976 25,056 24,637 24,145 26,511 19,460 21,217
Time and age expiries or exercise of right at option point 11,501 12,383 13,311 12,488 12,922 9,556 9,927
Premature release at own request1 6,113 7,215 6,742 7,052 8,774 6,275 7,651
Redundancies 422 505 147 26 — — —
Unsatisfactory, disciplinary and other reasons 3,538 3,379 3,067 3,182 3,165 2,382 2,260
Medical reasons and deaths 1,194 1,408 1,197 1,254 1,479 1,122 1,229
Compassionate release 208 166 173 143 171 125 150
Female officers2 298 351 334 328 335 259 251
Time and age expiries or exercise of right at option point 162 201 182 175 173 135 114
At own request 108 110 120 120 129 102 112
Medical reasons and deaths 12 3 7 5 7 4 6
Unsatisfactory, disciplinary and other reasons 16 37 25 28 26 18 19
Servicewomen 2,161 2,289 2,433 2,556 2,387 1,758 2,025
Time and age expiries or exercise of right at option point 58 96 136 167 164 119 124
By exercise of right to give 18 months notice 305 349 459 451 486 351 425
At own request 307 296 373 358 391 279 407
Marriage, pregnancy 1,261 1,325 1,171 1,247 1,079 822 833
Unsatisfactory, disciplinary and other reasons 185 182 237 267 210 151 174
Medical reasons and deaths 41 36 53 61 50 32 58
Compassionate release 4 5 4 5 7 4 4
1The numbers shown as premature release at own request, for both officers and servicemen, relate only to trained personnel.
2As the numbers for female officers designate are small, they have been included in those for female officers.