§ Mr. KeetchTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people have left the armed forces by premature voluntary release in each of the past 15 years; and what the 10 most commonly cited reasons given for premature voluntary release are. [82118]
§ Dr. Moonie[holding answer 25 November 2002]The number of trained UK regular personnel who have left the armed forces by premature voluntary release/ retirement is as follows:
- Staying longer will make it more difficult to start a new career;
- Compassionate reasons.
For the RAF, the Command Scientific Support Branch (CSSB) compiles an annual leavers survey that examines why airmen, airwomen and airmen aircrew are leaving the service. They also administer a questionnaire to all officers who have actively decided to leave the RAF, either at an option point or on PVR terms. The findings from the 2000–01 administration show that there is no single prevailing reason for leaving the RAF. However, the main reasons (which are similar across all branches and trades) are as follows.
For officers the five most important individual items from the questionnaire were:
- Future job satisfaction;
- Employment opportunities outside the RAF;
- Career prospects outside the RAF;
- Current job satisfaction;
- Service morale.
For other ranks the five issues found to account for the majority of airmen's reasons for leaving were:
- Lack of job satisfaction; Promotion prospects;
- Staying any longer would make it difficult to start a second career;
- Family stability;
Promotion does not appear to be related to abilities.