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Ministry of Defence

Answer

Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of (a) the RAF, (b) the Army and (c) the Royal Navy he expects to be serving (i) abroad accompanied, (ii) abroad unaccompanied and (iii) deployed in front-line duties on (1) 25 December 1999, (2) 31 December 1999 and (3) 1 January 2000; what percentage of overall strength of each force this represents; and if he will make a statement. [101712] Mr. Spellar: Projections of the number of personnel serving overseas cover the Christmas period as a whole and are not available on a day-to-day basis. During the period 25 December 1999 to 1 January 2000, it is expected that the RAF will have 3,641 married personnel serving abroad, 1,160 single personnel serving abroad and 2,252 personnel deployed on front-line duties. The combined figure of 7,053 represents 13.8 per cent. of the RAF's trained strength. During the same period, the Army is expected to have 12,851 married personnel serving aboard, 14,544 single personnel serving abroad and 5,800 personnel deployed on front-line duties. The combined figure of 33,195 represents 34.4 per cent. of the Army's trained strength. Also during the same period the Naval Service is expected to have 691 married personnel serving abroad, 154 single personnel serving abroad and 766 personnel deployed on front-line duties at sea and ashore. The combined figure of 1,611 represents 4.2 per cent. of the Naval Service's trained strength. Information on whether married personnel were accompanied or unaccompanied is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

341 c29W; 101712

Session

1999-00

Subjects

Armed forces Army Christmas Deployment Air force Public holidays Millennium Staff Navy Working hours

Contains statistics

Yes