§ Mr. WilshireTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for reducing personnel numbers in the Royal Air Force.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonTo achieve the planned force levels for 1 April 1995 announced in the House on 25 July 1990, columns 470–73, the RAF will need to reduce its total manpower by some 11,000 over the period 1 April 1992 to 1 April 1995. This reduction will be achieved mainly through normal turnover, reduced intakes and other manning regulators. A limited redundancy programme currently estimated at some 1,150 and spread over the period 1993 to 1995 will, however, be necessary to remove residual surpluses in specified branches and trades. It is hoped to meet this programme through voluntary redundancy, although some compulsory redundancies may be necessary.