§ Mr. LawsTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether there is full manning of the(a) Royal Air Force and (b) Royal Navy; and if he will make a statement. [66293]
§ Mr. IngramThe RAF is in broad manning balance. However, shortfalls remain in a number of branches and trades. The RAF aim is to meet the Public Service Agreement (PSA), so that full manning against the requirement within a tolerance band of +1/-2 per cent.524W will be achieved by March 2004. The naval service will not now reach its PSA target of full manning within a tolerance band of +1/-2 per cent. in 2004, but it is determined to do so by 2005 and work continues on measures to achieve this.