§ Mr. HuttonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the scale of alcohol abuse in the armed services.
§ Mr. SoamesAlcohol abuse in the armed forces is taken very seriously and considerable effort is put into dealing with alcohol-related problems. A comprehensive system of education and treatment has been developed 557W throughout the services. In addition to the collation of disciplinary data in respect of alcohol-related offences, numbers of alcohol dependence/chronic alcoholism cases are also monitored. There were 272 such cases in 1992, the latest year for which figures are available, compared with 369 cases in 1988. These represent 0.09 per cent. and 0.11 per cent. of service strength respectively.
1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 Royal Navy Males 9 13 5 7 7 Females — — — — — Army Males 20 22 12 14 10 Females — — — — — Royal Air Force Males 20 10 10 13 6 Females — 1 1 — —
§ Mr. HuttonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the annual expenditure in each year since 1989 of the Royal Navy, Army and RAF on alcohol abuse programmes expressed in constant 1994 prices.
§ Mr. SoamesEach of the services offers a comprehensive education programme to combat alcohol abuse plus treatment for alcohol dependency. Details of the costs involved are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.