§ 27. Mr. LuffTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on recruitment to the Royal Navy. [31920]
§ Mr. IngramRecruitment to the Naval Service is satisfactory. We aim to recruit about 5,000 officers, ratings and Royal Marines this year and, although we still face challenges in the recruitment of engineers, submarine operator mechanics, chefs and some medical specialisations, we are within 5 per cent. of our target in most areas.
We continue to initiate spotlight campaigns in areas of high recruitment potential throughout the UK, with a particular interest in those districts where there is the potential to increase this representation of the ethnic minority population. Our initiatives include multi-media advertising campaigns such as the new cinema advert for the Royal Marines, and attendance at multi-cultural events and exhibitions, presentation and display teams. It is important that we attract the attention and interest of young people still in full-time education and our Royal Naval and Royal Marine display and presentation teams regularly tour the UK, visiting schools and colleges, attending careers fairs and conventions and promoting EU financial assistance schemes to sixth-formers and undergraduates.