§ Mr. Bob RussellTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list, for each regiment, the number by which it was below complement on 30 April; and what plans he has to bring each up to its complement. [6817]
§ Dr. ReidThe manning level against the complement in each of the Regiments within the Household Cavalry, Royal Armoured Corps (RAC) and Infantry at 1 May 1997 is provided at Table 1. Corresponding information for the rest of the Army is not available by regiment but is provided by Arm or Service at Table 2. The Government fully recognises the seriousness of the situation we have inherited. To improve levels of manning the Army has introduced a number of initiatives; Recruitment, Retention and Re-enlistment bounties, the 423W introduction of NVQs, and the formation of an Army Foundation College from September 1998. In the short term, Gurkha Re-inforcement Companies have been deployed to minimise undermining in areas of particular concern.
424W
Table 1: Household Cavalry, Royal Armoured Corps and Infantry Deficit/surplus Household Division 1st Battalion, Grenadier Guards -120 N Company, Grenadier Guards -4 1st Battalion, Coldstream Guards -54 7 Company, Coldstream Guards +6 1st Battalion, Scots Guards -78 F Company, Scots Guards -22 1st Battalion, Irish Guards -83 1st Battalion, Welsh Guards -29 Total -384 Scottish Division 1st Battalion, Royal Scots Guards -170 1st Battalion Royal Highland Fusiliers -79 1st Battalion, King's Own Scottish Borderers -70 1st Battalion, Black Watch -66 1st Battalion, Highlanders -74 1st Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders -87 Total -546 Queens Division 1st Battalion, The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment -128 2nd Battalion, The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment -38 1st Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers -56 2nd Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers -17 1st Battalion, The Royal Anglian +16 2nd Battalion, The Royal Anglian +3 Total -220 Kings Division 1st Battalion, The King's Own Royal Border Regiment -89 1st Battalion, The King's Regiment -3 1st Battalion, The Prince of Wales's Own Regiment -7 1st Battalion, The Green Howards -22 1st Battalion, The Queen's Lancashire Regiment -90 1st Battalion, The Duke of Wellington's Regiment +54 Total -157 Prince of Wales's Division 1st Battalion, The Devonshire and Dorset Regiment -51 1st Battalion, The Cheshire Regiment -80 1st Battalion, The Royal Welch Fusiliers -4 1st Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Wales -41 1st Battalion, The Royal Gloucester Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment -93 1st Battalion, The Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment +13 1st Battalion Staffordshire Regiment +3 Total -253 Light Division 1st Battalion, The Light Infantry -63
Table 1: Household Cavalry, Royal Armoured Corps and Infantry Deficit/surplus 2nd Battalion, The Light Infantry -33 1st Battalion, The Royal Green Jackets -87 2nd Battalion, The Royal Green Jackets -59 Total -242 The Parachute Regiment 1st Battalion, The Parachute Regiment -32 2nd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment -77 3rd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment -78 Total -187 Royal Irish Regiment 1st Battalion, The Royal Irish Regiment -145 Total -145 The Brigade of Gurkhas 1st Battalion, The Royal Gurkha Rifles -14 2nd Battalion, The Royal Gurkha Rifles +13 Total -1 The figures shown at Table 1 exclude the re-inforcement by the Gurkha Re-inforcement Companies (GRC) which number some 400 men.
Table 2: Soldier (trained) manning state by Arm Service as at 1 May 1997 Army Service Number surplus deficit Household Cavalry/Royal Armoured Corps -80 Royal Artillery -644 Royal Engineers +183 Royal Signals -782 Infantry -2,156 Army Air Corps -41 Royal Logistics Corps -1,137 Royal Army Medical Corps -175 Royal Electrical Mechanical Engineers -323 Adjutant General's Corps -57 Intelligence Corps -79 Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps -107 Corps of Army Musicians -91 Others1 +21 Total -5,468 1 Includes Royal Army Veterinary Corps, Small Arms School Corps, Royal Army Dental Service, Army Physical Training Corps, Long Service List. Figures at Table 2 represent total soldier numbers serving in the listed capbadges.
Figures at Table 1 only show soldiers serving with their parent units.