§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many personnel were serving in the Army,(b) Royal Air Force and (c) Royal Navy at the beginning of each of the last three years; what the predicted numbers are for each of the next three years; and if he will make a statement. [142199]
§ Mr. CaplinThe numbers of personnel serving in the armed forces over the last three years are displayed in Tri-Service Publication (TSP) 1 'UK Regular Forces Strengths and Changes', a copy of which can be found in the House of Commons Library.
Each service sets manpower requirements at the level required to deliver the capabilities needed to meet their endorsed requirements. The requirements and the performance in meeting them are reported by the Defence Analytical Services Agency (DASA) both annually in UK Defence Statistics and quarterly under National Statistics arrangements. Copies of these can also be found in the House of Commons Library.