§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many soldiers from ethnic minorities there are in each of the Guards regiments; how many soldiers from ethnic minorities there are in the British Army not including the Gurkhas; and if he will make a statement. [20983]
§ Mr. IngramThe number of soldiers from ethnic minorities, not including Gurkhas, in each of the Guard regiments and in the British Army as a whole is set out in the tables:
Strength of Army soldiers in Guards regiments by ethnicity as at 1 November 2001 White1 Non-white1 Unspecified Total Grenadier Guards 713 22 5 740 Coldstream Guards 816 7 5 828 Scots Guards 719 10 7 736 Irish Guards 614 22 10 646 Welsh Guards 660 9 3 672
Strength of all Army soldiers by ethnicity as at 1 November 2001 Number White1 88,974 Non-white1 2,309 Unspecified 4,546 Total 95,829 1Provisional Notes:
1. The ethnic origin marker is currently being re-surveyed to align with the codes used in the 2001 Census. During this process all current intake is being recorded as being of unspecified origin. Strength figures are therefore shown as provisional.
2. The figures provided are based on UK Trained Army Personnel (UKTAP) only; this does not include Full Time Reserve Service, Royal Irish Home Service or Gurkhas.
3. Figures provided include Commonwealth personnel.
The Army remains firmly committed to its long-term aim of achieving levels of ethnic minority representation which more closely reflect the population it serves. This 745W was recognised earlier this year in a report following the Business in the Community's Race for Opportunity campaign, which rated the Army as Britain's top public sector organisation for race equality.