Written question asked by Paul Keetch (Liberal Democrat) on Wednesday, 3 December 2003, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 11 December 2003. It was answered by Ivor Caplin (Labour) on Thursday, 11 December 2003 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Ministry of Defence

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many members of the Army indicated when last questioned that they believed that (a) harassment, (b) discrimination and (c) bullying are problems in (i) their immediate area of work and (ii) the Army as a whole; what percentage of those responding this represents; what percentage of the actual strength this represents; and if he will make a statement. - Inc figures.

Answer: Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the Army indicated when last questioned that they believed that (a) harassment, (b) discrimination and (c) bullying are problems in (i) their immediate area of work and (ii) the Army as a whole; what percentage of those responding this represents; what percentage of the actual strength this represents; and if he will make a statement. [142576] Mr. Caplin: In response to the latest Serving Personnel Army Continuous Attitude Survey, 202 of those surveyed indicated they believed that harassment, discrimination or bullying were problems within their immediate work area; this represents 12 per cent. of those who responded to this question and 12 per cent. of those who returned questionnaires. In addition, 837 serving personnel indicated that they believed harassment, discrimination and bullying were problems within the British Army; this represents 51 percent of those who responded to this question and 50 per cent. of those who returned questionnaires. The latest survey was undertaken in December 2002 and was sent to a four percent stratified random sample of the trained Army (excluding Gurkhas and Full Time Reserve Service).

Secondary information