§ Mr. KeetchTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the Army indicated when last questioned, that they were satisfied with(a) the amount 471W of entitled leave they are able to take, (b) the frequency of operational tours, (c) the length of operational tours and (d) intervals between operational tours; what percentage of those responding this represents; what percentage of actual strength this represents; and if he will make a statement. [82482]
§ Dr. MoonieThe Army has been conducting the Continuous Attitude Survey (CAS) for over 20 years. It is a valuable tool in understanding the current thinking of Army personnel and is used to help manage retention, exercise duty of care and report on progress with Army and wider Departmental initiatives. The latest survey, which was undertaken in March/April 2002, was only sent to a 4 per cent, random sample f the trained Army (excluding Gurkhas and Full Time Reserve Service personnel); 3,978 questionnaires were sent out.
The percentages of those who responded to the most recent CAS, that are satisfied, dissatisfied or do not have a strong opinion regarding Operational tours and leave, are shown in the table.
Percentage satisfied Percentage neutral Percentage dissatisfied Amount of leave 49 24 27 Frequency of operational tours 37 33 30 Length of operational tours 43 35 22 Tour intervals 30 36 34 I am unable to provide the percentage of the actual strength that this represents.