§ Mr. SwayneTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the increase in other ranks applications to the three services in 2000–01 which has not led to entries; and if he will make a statement. [36826]
700W
§ Mr. IngramRecords of the numbers of Other Ranks applications and intakes for the years 1999–2000, 2000–01 and part of 2001–02 show the following:
Services 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–021 Naval Applicants 13,251 13,034 8,579 Intake 4,545 4,175 3,227 Conversation Rate (per cent.) 34.3 32.0 37.6 Army Applicants 37,992 33,812 25,590 Intake 15,436 13,843 9,384 Conversion Rate (per cent.) 40.6 40.9 36.7 RAF Applicants 16,218 15,997 10,984 Intake 3,613 3,193 2,506 Conversion Rate (per cent.) 22.3 20.0 22.8 1 Figures for 2000–02 only cover the period up to 31 December 2001 It should be remembered that not all successful applicants may necessarily join the armed forces in the same year that they applied, due to the time needed to process the applications fully.
The figures demonstrate the conversion rates of applicants to intake has remained reasonably constant for the Naval Service and for the RAF. The change in conversion rate for the Army is associated with the introduction of an enhanced selection scheme aimed at reducing wastage during initial training. Only those assessed at Recruit Selection Centres as having more than a 90 per cent. chance of passing Phase 1 training are now selected. The higher quality of recruits ensures that final output to the field army (ie. the gains to the trained strength) remains largely the same despite the smaller intake.