§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his Answer of 11th July, Official Report, column 1033W, on trained personnel, what research his Department has carried out into the numbers of Royal Naval personnel who have gone absent without leave since 1995; and if he will make a statement. [127069]
§ Mr. CaplinNo research has been carried out since 1995 into the numbers of Royal Naval personnel who have gone absent without leave, although the reasons for absence are routinely collected and reviewed. The increase in the number of Naval Service absences since 2000 shown in my answer,Official Report, column 1033W of 11 July 2003 was due to a change in the arrangements for reporting absence. Until then, no warrant for arrest was issued until the eighth day of an absence, and absentees who returned before then were not formally recorded. Since 2000 a warrant has been raised and absence has been formally recorded as soon as the absence has been established. This has had the effect of increasing the number of absences formally recorded, but is not indicative of an underlying increase in unauthorised absences.