§ Mr. Gerald HowarthTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many(a) officers and (b) men the Royal 896W Navy requires to crew the submarines in service with an adequate margin of reserve to ensure full continuity of operations; and how many are available. [78314]
§ Mr. IngramAs at 1 August 2002, the Royal Navy Submarine Arm required 254 officers and 1,959 ratings to man submarines in service.
On the same date, 834 officers and 3,670 ratings were required to man the Submarine Arm as a whole. The equivalent strength figures were 629 officers and 3,552 ratings. The shortfall is borne by a range of support and training functions ashore and is currently the focus of a range of recruitment and retention initiatives.