HC Deb 05 May 1999 vol 330 c378W
Dr. Tonge

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many commissioned officers there are in(a) the Army, (b) the Royal Navy and (c) the Royal Air Force; and how many are of Afro-Caribbean origin. [83074]

Mr. Doug Henderson

[holding answer 4 May 1999]: As at 1 March 1999, the numbers of all commissioned officers, and the number of commissioned officers whose known ethnic category is either 'Black-African' or 'Black-Caribbean' is as shown in the table:

All ethnic origins Black-African1 Black-Caribbean1
Naval Service 7,733 8 6
Army 12,707 12 12
Royal Air Force 10,798 9 17
Total 31,238 29 35
1These numbers are based on the self-classification of ethnic origin used by individual members of the Armed Forces. There are a further 24 officers who have classified themselves as 'Black-Other'.