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Written question asked by Liam Fox (Conservative) on Tuesday, 22 January 2008, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 24 January 2008. It was answered by Derek Twigg (Labour) on Monday, 18 February 2008 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Armed Forces: Leave

Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the (a) average and (b) highest percentage of annual leave lost by personnel in the (i) Army, (ii) Navy, (iii) RAF and (iv) all services has been in the last 12 months.
Answer

The information requested is not held centrally. However, the Defence Analytical Services Agency (DASA) undertake an annual Survey of Leave which captures the number of lost leave days for each respondent. Overall estimates for the Army and RAF for the 2006-07 leave year are shown in the following table.It is not possible to provide reliable 2006-07 estimates for the Navy (including Royal Marines) due to low response rates, caused by their migration to the new joint personnel administration system during the 2006-07 leave year.

Table of estimated average percentage and average number of annual leave days not taken and not carried forward in 2006-07
Service Average percentage of annual leave lost Average number of annual leave days lost
Army 4 1.3
RAF 6 2.6

Since the survey of leave is a sample survey it cannot be used to identify the highest value in the population as a whole. The survey excludes personnel of Major General rank and above (or equivalents).Historical copies of the Survey of Leave report are available in the Library of the House and the 2006-07 report will be available shortly.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
472 c77W; 182327
Session
2007-08
Subjects
Armed forces Leave Holiday leave
Link
View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk