§ Lord Wyatt of Weefordasked Her Majesty's Government:
What was the fighting strength of (a) the Royal Navy; (b) the Royal Air Force; and (c) the Army in 1988 and 1990; and what are they expected to be in 1998; and for the dates above in what numbers and what locations were they, or are they, expected to be.
Viscount CranborneThe manpower strengths of the three services for 1988 and 1990 and their deployments in the UK and Overseas for these years are detailed in Section 2 of the 1992 edition ofDefence Statistics published by the Government Statistical Service. This publication is available from the House Library. The Government's broad plans for the future strength and locations of the Armed Forces for the rest of the decade were set out in Britain's Defence for the 90s (SDE91—Cmnd. 1559–1).
We keep force levels under constant review, as shown by the statement we made on 3rd February (H.C. Deb. cols. 319–321) announcing a small but sensible increase in the planned size of the Army.