§ Mr. Gerald HowarthTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many new recruits have applied to join the Army in the past year; and how many of those have been(a) judged suitable, (b) accepted for training and (c) deferred. [177145]
§ Mr. CaplinThe number of new recruits who have applied to join the Army in the past year (training year 2003–2004), have been judged suitable, accepted for training and deferred are detailed as follows.
Training year—2003–04 Number of new recruits Applicants 35,224 Judged suitable/job offer 18,133 Accepted for training 13,783 Deferred1 10,099 1Deferrals include those who are deferred for medical reasons, for fitness and as a result of the Principal Selection officer interview held at the end of attendance at a Recruit Selection Centre It should be noted that those deferred will normally reapply at a later stage, hence the figures for those deferred and accepted for training will not equate to the job offer figure in year.