wrans/answers2025-02-19 conversation_14
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-19)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-02-19 conversation_14

Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recruitment targets there were in each branch of the armed forces in each of the last five years; and how many people were recruited to each branch in the same period. \p Luke Pollard: The information requested by the hon. Member can be found below.

Financial Year

Royal Navy

Army

Royal Air Force

Target

Actual

Target

Actual

Target

Actual

2019-20

4,180

3,670

10,110

9,590

2,900

2,620

2020-21

4,400

4,060

9,420

9,330

2,490

2,210

2021-22

4,350

3,730

7,360

7,230

2,670

2,320

2022-23

3,830

2,950

8,830

6,080

2,370

1,930

2023-24

4,040

2,610

10,450

6,720

2,560

1,600

The new Government has made improving recruitment and readiness of our armed forces an early priority. The Secretary of State has already made announcements to improve recruitment and further announcements will be made by the Ministry of Defence in due course.

Notes:

Royal Navy

1. Full-Time Naval Service personnel (Royal Navy and Royal Marines), including Nursing Services, but excluding Full-Time Reserve Service (FTRS) personnel and reservists.

2. Untrained intake for Navy include Marines and comprises new entrants into Phase 1 training. Figures do not include transfers from another Service or include transfers from Other Rank to Officer.

Army

1. The figures are for the Regular Army only and therefore exclude Gurkhas, Full Time Reserve Service, Mobilised Reserves, Army Reserve and all other Reserves, but includes those personnel that have transferred from GURTAM to UKTAP.

2. Untrained intake for Army comprises new entrants into Phase 1 training. Figures do not include transfers from another Service. Figures also do not include transfers from Other Rank to Untrained Direct Entry Officer.

3. The Army Regular Other Rank Basic Training Starts (BTS) targets exclude re-joiners and personnel joining the Military Provost Guard Service and the Royal Gibraltar Regiment.

4. In 2019-20 the target was exceeded; however, due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent reduction in BT capacity, the number of BTS was impacted. Recruits were loaded to training, however, but were unable to start BT in year.

5. The Army reduced its recruitment targets in 2020-21 and 2021-22 due to measures under Future Soldier, which are reflected in the above figures. The Other Ranks target for 2020-21 was reported as 8,270 due to an administrative error in an earlier Parliamentary Question (UIN 7264) dated 8 January 2024 and has been corrected in the calculations for the above table.

6. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10 for presentational purposes.

Royal Air Force

1. Intake to the Regular RAF includes both trained and untrained intake. The figures match the Service Personnel Statistics, Table 5A.

2. Recruitment and intake is likely to be affected by wider circumstances, such as the Covid-19 pandemic and cost of living.

3. Figures have been rounded to 10 for presentational purposes. Numbers ending in 5 have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systemic bias.