§ Mr. HobanTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the number of personnel not fit for employment and awaiting NHS treatment in(a) the Royal Navy, (b) the Army and (c) the RAF. [118800]
§ Mr. Caplin[holding answer 12 June 2003]: The information requested is not available centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. As at January 2003, 18,338 Service personnel were medically downgraded. Some 40 per cent, of medically downgraded personnel are deployable on military operations although not at the front line, and most of the others are able to undertake some form of military duties. Only a small proportion were not employable in any capacity. The only information held centrally on the numbers of Service personnel awaiting medical treatment relates to those awaiting treatment at NHS Hospital Trusts which host the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine and the Ministry of Defence Hospital Units. As of 31 March 2003, the latest date for which figures are available, 967 Service personnel were 478W awaiting in-patient treatment, 1332 were awaiting day-case treatment and 3349 were awaiting out-patient appointments.