Written question asked by John Healey (Labour) on Monday, 18 December 2023, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 8 January 2024 (named day). It was answered by Andrew Murrison (Conservative) on Monday, 8 January 2024 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Army: Recruitment

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what were the (a) recruitment targets and (b) actual numbers of people recruited to the Army in each year since 2010.

Answer

The first table below shows the Basic Training Starts (BTS) Targets for British Army Other Ranks by financial year. There are no targets for Officers.

Financial Year	BTS Target
2010-11	8,350
2011-12	10,530
2012-13	9,830
2013-14	9,380
2014-15	9,370
2015-16	9,550
2016-17	10,200
2017-18	9,770
2018-19	9,990
2019-20	9,400
2020-21*	9,870
2021-22	6,670
2022-23	8,220

*2020-21 Target was 9,870 before being supressed in-year to 8,270 because of IR measures.

The second table below shows the BTS Actuals for British Army Officers and Other Ranks by financial year.

Financial Year	Total BTS Actuals	Officer BTS Actuals	Other Ranks BTS Actuals
2010-11	8,520	740	7,780
2011-12	10,890	690	10,200
2012-13	10,060	620	9,440
2013-14	6,810	560	6,250
2014-15	7,850	500	7,350
2015-16	8,100	550	7,550
2016-17	7,620	640	6,980
2017-18	6,600	620	5,990
2018-19	6,500	640	5,860
2019-20	9,580	630	8,960
2020-21*	9,330	650	8,680
2021-22	7,230	650	6,580
2022-23	6,080	520	5,560

Please note the following notes/caveats:

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.

Basic Training Start figures prior to and including 2016/17 include all personnel entering both Phase 1 and Phase 2 training. Following a change in definition of trained strength from 1 October 2016, all Basic Training Starts figures from 2017/18 onwards only include personnel who entered Phase 1 training. Figures from 2017/18 onwards are therefore not directly comparable with previous Financial Years.

Figures have been rounded to 10 for presentational purposes; numbers ending in "5" have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias.

Totals and sub-totals have been rounded separately and so may not appear to be the sum of their parts.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 7264
Session: 2023-24
Related items: Army: Recruitment
Tuesday, 16 January 2024
Written questions
House of Commons; Army: Recruitment
Tuesday, 16 January 2024
Written questions
House of Commons; Army: Recruitment
Wednesday, 17 January 2024
Written questions
House of Commons; Army: Recruitment
Wednesday, 17 January 2024
Written questions
House of Commons
Subjects: Army Recruitment
Contains statistics: Yes
Link: View this Written question on www.parliament.uk

Army: Recruitment

Secondary information

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