Baroness Davidson of Lundin Links

The number of people who have died in UK coastal waters in each of the last ten calendar years:

HM Coastguard currently has approximately 662 employees.

The total number of search and rescue incidents for the last ten calendar years is:

The number of people estimated to have been successfully rescued by HM Coastguard in each year for which HM Coastguard holds consistent records is:

HM Coastguard does not hold data on the average cost of each callout to which HM Coastguard responds.

The number of people who have died in UK coastal waters in each of the last ten calendar years:

HM Coastguard currently has approximately 662 employees.

The total number of search and rescue incidents for the last ten calendar years is:

The number of people estimated to have been successfully rescued by HM Coastguard in each year for which HM Coastguard holds consistent records is:

HM Coastguard does not hold data on the average cost of each callout to which HM Coastguard responds.

The number of people who have died in UK coastal waters in each of the last ten calendar years:

HM Coastguard currently has approximately 662 employees.

The total number of search and rescue incidents for the last ten calendar years is:

The number of people estimated to have been successfully rescued by HM Coastguard in each year for which HM Coastguard holds consistent records is:

HM Coastguard does not hold data on the average cost of each callout to which HM Coastguard responds.

The number of people who have died in UK coastal waters in each of the last ten calendar years:

HM Coastguard currently has approximately 662 employees.

The total number of search and rescue incidents for the last ten calendar years is:

The number of people estimated to have been successfully rescued by HM Coastguard in each year for which HM Coastguard holds consistent records is:

HM Coastguard does not hold data on the average cost of each callout to which HM Coastguard responds.

The number of people who have died in UK coastal waters in each of the last ten calendar years:

HM Coastguard currently has approximately 662 employees.

The total number of search and rescue incidents for the last ten calendar years is:

The number of people estimated to have been successfully rescued by HM Coastguard in each year for which HM Coastguard holds consistent records is:

HM Coastguard does not hold data on the average cost of each callout to which HM Coastguard responds.

Across the NHS in England there are services supporting people with post-COVID syndrome (long COVID). These services offer physical, cognitive and psychological assessment, and, where appropriate, refer patients onto existing services for treatment and rehabilitation.

To support clinical leadership in this area, NHSE has worked in partnership with the British Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine to develop a new Clinical Post-COVID Society to facilitate the ongoing sharing of best practice to support people affected by long COVID. More information about the Society can be found at the following link: https://www.clinicalpcs.org.uk.

The UK Government has also invested over £57 million into long COVID research. The projects aim to improve our understanding of the diagnosis and underlying mechanisms of the disease and the effectiveness of both pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapies and interventions, and to evaluate clinical care.

Recent government-funded research from the National Institute for Health and Care Research estimated the economic impact on the UK at the time of the study (March 2023) as £5.7 billion from those with long COVID unable to work as before. More than half of respondents worked fewer hours or stopped working and on average had a 25% drop in earnings or nearly £11,000 each. The Department has made no assessment of the future impact of long Covid on economic productivity and workforce participation.

The Department does not have an estimate of the cost to the economy per year of people unable to work due to long Covid. Recent government-funded research from the National Institute for Health and Care Research estimated the economic impact on the UK at the time of the study (March 2023) as £5.7 billion from those with long COVID unable to work as before, based on the total duration of long COVID symptoms.

Since close combat roles were opened to women in 2018, the Army has used inclusive advertising, targeted engagement and tailored support to encourage women to consider careers across the Army, including roles previously closed to them.

This activity is intended to support women through the main stages of the recruiting journey. Inclusive campaigns such as ‘You Belong Here’ and female-focused social media activity help raise awareness and show that Army careers, including close combat roles, are open to women. Women in Combat events, Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics events, work experience and targeted outreach provide opportunities to learn more about roles and ask questions before applying. Fitness support, mentoring, female ambassadors, ‘Ask a Soldier’ activity, young officer nurture events and digital guidance through the Army Readiness App are intended to build confidence, provide practical advice and support candidates through the recruitment process. Recruiter training supports more confident and informed engagement with under-represented groups.

These measures support female recruitment across the Army rather than being targeted at individual regiments, units or roles. Activities such as ‘Women in Combat’ engagement, serving female ambassadors, tailored support events and inclusive marketing are relevant to women considering close combat roles as they increase awareness, provide access to role models and help candidates understand and prepare for the recruitment process.

The tables below provide the number and percentage of women in the Trade Trained Regular Army and trained Army Reserve within the Infantry, Household Cavalry (HCAV) and Royal Armoured Corps (RAC) for each year from 2018 to 2026. The Ministry of Defence does not routinely release information on the number or composition of UK Special Forces personnel because its disclosure could prejudice operational security.

Notes/Caveats:

1. The figures in Table 1 are for the Trade Trained 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.
2. Future Reserves 2020 includes volunteer reserves who are mobilised, High Readiness Reserve and volunteer reserve personnel serving on Additional Duties Commitment or Full Time Reserve Service contracts. Sponsored Reserves who provide a more cost effective solution than volunteer reserve are also included in the Army Reserve FR20. Non Regular Permanent Staff (NRPS), Expeditionary Forces Institute (EFI) and University Officer Cadets and Regular Reservists are excluded.
3. The Household Cavalry (HCav) does not have a dedicated part-time Army Reserve unit.
4. Musicians in the Regulars are included within the Royal Corps of Army Music (RCAM) Arm/Service. However, musicians in the Reserves are typically assigned to their individual Arm/Service, as there is no RCAM in the Reserves. For example, personnel in The Salamanca Band and Bugles are classified under the Infantry Arm/Service. The figures above exclude these reserve musicians, as they do not fulfil a combat role in the Reserves. This is to maintain compatibility for the purpose of this question.
5. Proportions are calculated by dividing the number of Females in the Arm/Service by the total personnel (Male and Females) in that Arm/Service.
6. FR20 figures do not include musician personnel who are posted to a regimental band.
7. Figures include Officers and Other Ranks
8. "[c]" denotes fewer than 5.
9. "-" denotes zero.

No single dataset covers every stage of assessment and selection for soldiers and officers. Available recruitment assessment and later role-specific training figures are therefore set out separately. They cover different populations, stages and periods and should not be combined or directly compared.

Between Recruiting Years 2018-19 and 2025-26, the following female Regular Soldier candidates attended the Army recruitment assessment with the stated role as their first job preference. Pass rates include conditional passes.

Separate initial trade training records show that, from 2018, 132 female soldiers began training for the Royal Armoured Corps or Household Cavalry and 116 completed it (88%). All 48 female officers who began the relevant training ultimately completed it, although four passed only after returning for a further course. These are training completion outcomes, not recruitment selection pass rates. Royal Armoured Corps and Household Cavalry figures cannot be separated.

Separate records of later role-specific officer training show that, since June 2019, 24 of 30 female officers passed the tactics phase of the Infantry Platoon Commanders’ Battle Course as initial trainees (80%). Including officers seeking to transfer into the Infantry, 28 of 36 passed (78%). These course outcomes do not measure recruitment assessment or selection.

The current strength (as at 1 January 2025) of the UK Armed Forces is 180,779 which includes:

• All UK Regular personnel and all Gurkha personnel (77.6 per cent of UK Service Personnel, (SP)).
• Volunteer Reserve personnel (17.7 per cent of UK SP).
• Other Personnel including the Serving Regular Reserve, Sponsored Reserve, Military Provost Guard Service, Locally Engaged Personnel and elements of the Full-Time Reserve Service (4.7 per cent of UK SP).

The strength of each of the Services, including Regular Forces, Volunteer Reserves and Other Personnel is:

• Royal Navy/Royal Marines - 37,601.
• Army (also including Gurkhas) -108,413.
• Royal Air Force is - 34,765.

The gender of Armed Forces personnel (as at 1 October 2024) is as follows:

• Male – 147,570.
• Female – 21,420

Gender figures are for Regular and Future Reserve 2030 Forces only; data regarding other categories of SP is not available.

I refer the Noble Baroness to the response given by the Minister for the Armed Forces last November (Question 11998).