§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his estimate is of the number of new recruits required to bring each of the Services up to full strength as outlined in the Strategic Defence Review. [132180]
§ Mr. CaplinThe latest audited armed forces manning shortfall figures available show that, as at 1 July 2003, the armed forces had a deficit of 6,060 trained personnel (Naval Service 1,020; Army 4,220; RAF 820).
Last year, the Services exceeded their numeric recruiting target of 25,381 with 26,220 new entrants. This year, the recruiting target currently stands at 25,618.