MINISTRY OF DEFENCE
News Release (PN192/2008) issued by The Government News Network on
28 August 2008
Today's
publication of the Ministry of Defence's latest Armed Forces
manning figures shows that the UK Armed Forces are currently at
96.8 per cent of their full time trained strength requirement.
As at 1 July 2008, the full time trained strength of the UK Armed
Forces was 173,370 against a target of 179,160. This comprises
167,970 UK regular forces, 1,830 full time reserve service
personnel and 3,570 Gurkhas. There were also 17,590 untrained UK
regulars and 270 untrained Gurkhas.
There has been an 11.7 per cent increase (2,250 people) in the
number of new recruits who have joined the Armed Forces in the 12
months to 30 June 2008, compared to the previous year. There has
been a 12.6 per cent increase (1830 people) in the number of
recruits who have joined the trained strength of the Armed Forces
compared with the same period last year.
Overall, the number of people leaving the trained strength of the
Armed Forces in the 12 months to 30 June 2008 has decreased by 1.4
per cent compared with the 12 months to 30 June 2007.
The number of people joining the Armed Forces for their initial
training is at its highest point since 31 March 2004. The number
of people completing their training and moving into the deployable
strength of the Armed Forces is also at its highest point since 31
March 2005. The number of people leaving trained strength is at
its lowest since March 2006.
Defence Minister Bob Ainsworth said:
"We face strong competition from other employers and our
personnel are very much in demand owing to the skills and
experience they acquire during service life. At a time when the
Armed Forces are heavily committed to operations, recruitment and
retention of high quality people is more important than ever. We
are determined to tackle these challenges.
"Recent initiatives include pay rises, financial retention
incentives, increased operational allowances, the introduction of
increased commitment bonuses of up to £15,000 to reward longer
service, and a new £20million pilot scheme to offer more
affordable home ownership.
"The recently published Service Personnel Command Paper sets
out a range of new initiatives to address some of the
disadvantages which have previously affected our service
personnel, their families and veterans. These include improved
access to health, housing and education."
Since 1 July 2007, the proportion of females in the UK regular
forces has risen 0.3 percentage points to 11.9 per cent for
officers and 0.1 percentage point to 9.0 per cent for other ranks.
The percentage of UK regular forces from ethnic minority
backgrounds continues to rise; at 1 July 2008 ethnic minorities
accounted for 6.2 per cent of UK Regular Forces compared to 5.9
per cent at the same point last year.
Notes to Editors
1. Due to the introduction of JPA, Naval Service and RAF strength
statistics from the 1st May 2007 and Army strength statistics from
the 1st April 2007 are provisional and subject to revision while
data validation continues.
2. Similarly all Naval Service flow statistics are provisional
from period ending 31 October 2006; all Army flow statistics are
provisional from period ending 31 March 2007; and all RAF flow
statistics are provisional from period ending 30 April 2007.
3. April 07 was the first ever tri-service pay run for HM Armed
Forces, resulting in a 99.2% accuracy rate and figures for both
May and June 07 have achieved over 99.5% accuracy. JPA is a major
business change programme (similar to the People Programme for
civilians) and one of the most complex ever to be undertaken in
either the private or public sector. The supporting computer
software application is one of the largest Oracle HR
implementations worldwide, that makes the fullest use of the
functionality of the software, and is the largest single payroll.
The system contains around 350,000 records (nearly 1 million if
pensioners are included) and supports 300,000 users worldwide from
the regular and reserve forces. Nowhere has a more complex dataset
- around 24 million lines of data - been so successfully migrated.
4. JPA is accessible from anywhere in the world and allows
individuals to update on-line certain pieces of personal
information, such as bank details and their home address. JPA also
allows individuals to access their pay statements, apply for
leave, submit travel, allowances and expense claims and undertake
other basic personnel tasks.
5. The Service Personnel Plan 2006 provides a structure for the
prioritisation and delivery of Service personnel policy over the
next 15 years. It reflects the challenges and opportunities that
the operational environment, demographic changes and the changing
expectations of personnel and their families present to our aim of
delivering sufficient, capable and motivated Armed Forces
personnel. Under the auspices of the Service Personnel Plan, work
is underway to ensure the effective delivery of remuneration to
meet the need to recruit, retain and motivate sufficient, capable
individuals to meet manning requirements.
6. The total Armed Forces manning requirement has decreased due
to previously announced restructuring across the Services. This
restructuring is designed to improve capability and flexibility in
order to meet the demands of current and future operations.
7. All figures and percentages exclude the Home Service
battalions of the Royal Irish Regiment and Reservists mobilised
for service.
8. The quarterly statistics (TSP4) are available on the DASA
website http://www.dasa.mod.uk/applications/newWeb/www/index.php?page=48&thiscontent=20&date=2008-08-28&pubType=1&from=current
9. For further information, visit the MoD website at http://www.mod.uk