{"value":{"id":1141908,"askingMemberId":627,"askingMember":null,"house":"Lords","memberHasInterest":false,"dateTabled":"2019-07-24T00:00:00","dateForAnswer":"2019-08-07T00:00:00","uin":"HL17452","questionText":"To ask Her Majesty's Government by how much (1) the Royal Navy, (2) the army, and (3) the Royal Air Force, are under strength.","answeringBodyId":11,"answeringBodyName":"Ministry of Defence","isWithdrawn":false,"isNamedDay":false,"groupedQuestions":[],"answerIsHolding":false,"answerIsCorrection":true,"answeringMemberId":4306,"answeringMember":null,"correctingMemberId":4306,"correctingMember":null,"dateAnswered":"2019-08-02T00:00:00","answerText":"<p>The current strength of the Armed Forces as at 1 April 2019 is given in the table below:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Service</p></td><td><p>Trained Strength</p></td><td><p>Workforce Requirement</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Royal Navy/Royal Marines</p></td><td><p>29,224</p></td><td><p>30,568</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Army</p></td><td><p>75,070</p></td><td><p>82,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Royal Air Force</p></td><td><p>30,010</p></td><td><p>31,756</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Trained Strength comprises military personnel who have completed Phase 1 and 2 training for Royal Navy/Royal Marines, the Army (prior to 1 October 2016) and the Royal Air Force. Following the change in definition of trained strength for Army, from 1 October 2016, trained strength for the Army comprises of personnel who have completed Phase 1 training.</p><p>The Ministry of Defence remains committed to maintaining the overall size of the Armed Forces and we have a range of measures under way to improve recruitment and retention. The challenge is kept under constant review.</p><p>Importantly the Services continue to meet all their current commitments, keeping the country and its interests safe.</p><p> </p><p>The strength of the Armed Forces is published every three months and can be found in the UK Armed Forces Quarterly Service Personnel Statistics at the following link:</p><p> </p><p>https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/quarterly-service-personnel-statistics-2019</p>","originalAnswerText":"<p>The current strength of the Armed Forces as at 1 April 2019 is give in the table below:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Service</p></td><td><p>Trained Strength</p></td><td><p>Workforce Requirement</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Royal Navy/Royal Marines</p></td><td><p>29,224</p></td><td><p>30,568</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Army</p></td><td><p>75,070</p></td><td><p>82,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Royal Air Force</p></td><td><p>30,010</p></td><td><p>31,756</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Trained Strength comprises military personnel who have completed Phase 1 and 2 training for Royal Navy/Royal Marines, the Army (prior to 1 October 2016) and the Royal Air Force. Following the change in definition of trained strength for Army, from 1 October 2016, trained strength for the Army comprises of personnel who have completed Phase 1 training.</p><p>The Ministry of Defence remains committed to maintaining the overall size of the Armed Forces and we have a range of measures under way to improve recruitment and retention. The challenge is kept under constant review.</p><p>Importantly the Services continue to meet all their current commitments, keeping the country and its interests safe.</p><p> </p><p>The strength of the Armed Forces is published every three months and can be found in the UK Armed Forces Quarterly Service Personnel Statistics at the following link:</p><p> </p><p>https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/quarterly-service-personnel-statistics-2019</p>","comparableAnswerText":"<p>The current strength of the Armed Forces as at 1 April 2019 is give<ins class=\"ministerial\">n</ins> in the table below:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Service</p></td><td><p>Trained Strength</p></td><td><p>Workforce Requirement</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Royal Navy/Royal Marines</p></td><td><p>29,224</p></td><td><p>30,568</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Army</p></td><td><p>75,070</p></td><td><p>82,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Royal Air Force</p></td><td><p>30,010</p></td><td><p>31,756</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Trained Strength comprises military personnel who have completed Phase 1 and 2 training for Royal Navy/Royal Marines, the Army (prior to 1 October 2016) and the Royal Air Force. Following the change in definition of trained strength for Army, from 1 October 2016, trained strength for the Army comprises of personnel who have completed Phase 1 training.</p><p>The Ministry of Defence remains committed to maintaining the overall size of the Armed Forces and we have a range of measures under way to improve recruitment and retention. The challenge is kept under constant review.</p><p>Importantly the Services continue to meet all their current commitments, keeping the country and its interests safe.</p><p> </p><p>The strength of the Armed Forces is published every three months and can be found in the UK Armed Forces Quarterly Service Personnel Statistics at the following link:</p><p> </p><p>https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/quarterly-service-personnel-statistics-2019</p>","dateAnswerCorrected":"2019-08-20T00:00:00","dateHoldingAnswer":null,"attachmentCount":0,"heading":"Armed Forces","attachments":[],"groupedQuestionsDates":[]},"links":[{"rel":"self","href":"/Questions/1141908","method":"GET"}]}