§ Mr. KeetchTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the overseas recruitment missions that have taken place over the last six months and which are planned over the next year, indicating in each case(a) the country (i) visited and (ii) to be visited, (b) the number of overseas nationals (i) recruited and (ii) expected to be recruited and (c) the cost of the mission; and if he will make a statement. [228]
§ Mr. IngramRecruits to the UK armed forces must be British or Commonwealth citizens or Republic of Ireland nationals. Overseas recruitment missions are limited to those locations where numbers of expected applicants justify the effort.
A visit to St. Helena, which has generated some 40 applicants in each of the last two years, is currently taking place. Costs are not yet available.
An Army visit is being planned for later in the year to St. Lucia, from where 1,400 applications have been received. The cost of the visit is estimated at around £100,000.
No other recruiting visits have taken place in the last six months or are currently planned in the next 12 months.