Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to re-examine Capita’s involvement in recruitment in the Armed Forces.
Answered by Earl of Minto - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
There are no plans to re-examine Capita’s involvement in recruitment in the Armed Forces. The Army will continue its Recruiting Partnering Project contract with Capita, which has been extended to March 2026.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many men and women were recruited into the armed forces reserves in each of the past five years; and how many vacancies are there currently.
Answered by Earl of Minto - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Data on recruitment into the three Services is presented in the tables below.
The Integrated Review and Spending Review (IR/SR) introduced greater flexibility in how Defence could employ its workforce types (Armed Forces Regular, Reserve, Defence Civilian and Contractors). This has made the continued use of a fixed workforce requirement for individual components of the Whole Force less appropriate. We are in the process of agreeing a new Indicative Planned Strength (IPS) which reflects both the Whole Force Strategic Workforce plans that are being finalised and changes in organisational structure introduced following the IR/SR. Comparison of the IPS and published statistics on Armed Forces strength will make any shortfalls evident.
Table 1: UK Regular1 Personnel Intake2 by Gender4 in the past five years5 in each Service |
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| 1 Oct 2018 to 30 Sep 2019 | 1 Oct 2019 to 30 Sep 2020 | 1 Oct 2020 to 30 Sep 2021 | 1 Oct 2021 to 30 Sep 2022 | 1 Oct 2022 to 30 Sep 2023 |
Total | 14,880 | 14,590 | 17,070 | 11,980 | 10,470 |
Female | 1,600 | 1,630 | 1,940 | 1,420 | 1,220 |
Male | 13,280 | 12,960 | 15,130 | 10,570 | 9,250 |
RN/RM | 3,290 | 3,780 | 3,950 | 3,160 | 2,400 |
Female | 350 | 390 | 420 | 310 | 280 |
Male | 2,940 | 3,400 | 3,520 | 2,850 | 2,120 |
Army | 9,080 | 8,470 | 10,600 | 6,760 | 6,310 |
Female | 820 | 880 | 1,030 | 730 | 660 |
Male | 8,260 | 7,590 | 9,570 | 6,030 | 5,650 |
RAF | 2,510 | 2,330 | 2,520 | 2,060 | 1,760 |
Female | 440 | 360 | 490 | 380 | 280 |
Male | 2,080 | 1,970 | 2,040 | 1,680 | 1,480 |
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| Source: Analysis (Tri-Service) |
Table 2: FR203 Personnel Intake by Gender4 in the Past five Financial Years5 in each Service |
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| 1 Oct 2018 to 30 Sep 2019 | 1 Oct 2019 to 30 Sep 2020 | 1 Oct 2020 to 30 Sep 2021 | 1 Oct 2021 to 30 Sep 2022 | 1 Oct 2022 to 30 Sep 2023 |
Total | 5,710 | 5,020 | 5,700 | 3,720 | 3,780 |
Female | 900 | 760 | 950 | 600 | 540 |
Male | 4,820 | 4,270 | 4,750 | 3,120 | 3,240 |
RM/RN | 970 | 800 | 770 | 350 | 470 |
Female | 150 | 150 | 150 | 70 | 50 |
Male | 820 | 640 | 610 | 280 | 420 |
Army | 4,080 | 3,680 | 4,440 | 2,890 | 2,880 |
Female | 540 | 470 | 690 | 400 | 390 |
Male | 3,540 | 3,210 | 3,750 | 2,490 | 2,490 |
RAF | 660 | 550 | 500 | 480 | 430 |
Female | 200 | 130 | 110 | 130 | 100 |
Male | 460 | 420 | 390 | 350 | 330 |
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| Source: Analysis (Tri-Service) |
Notes/Caveats:
1. UK Regulars comprise Full time Service personnel, including Nursing Services, but excluding Full Time Reserve Service personnel, Gurkhas, mobilised Reservists, Military Provost Guard Service, Locally Engaged Personnel, Non Regular Permanent Staff, High Readiness Reserve and Expeditionary Forces Institute personnel. Unless otherwise stated, includes Trained and Untrained personnel.
2. Intake comprises all personnel joining the Armed Forces either as new entrants or re-entrants.
3. Future Reserves 2020 (FR20) includes Volunteer Reserves who are mobilised, High Readiness Reserve (HRR) 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, Expeditionary Forces Institute, University Officer Cadets and Regular Reservists are excluded.
4. Gender is a self-reported field on the Joint Personnel Administration System.
5. The yearly Intake-Periods are defined as the 12 months ending 30 September for each respective year.
6. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10 in line with disclosure control policy. Figures ending in 5 are rounded to the nearest 20 to avoid systematic bias. Please note that due to rounding, the total figures in the above tables may not equal the corresponding sum of figures for each Service.
7. These figures can be found in Tables 7 and 23 in the last five October Editions of the "UK Armed Forces Biannual Diversity Statistics" published on the gov.uk website: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/uk-armed-forces-biannual-diversity-statistics-index
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many men and women were recruited into (1) the Army, (2) the Navy, and (3) the Air Force, in each of the past five years; and how many vacancies there are currently in each service.
Answered by Earl of Minto - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Data on recruitment into the three Services is presented in the tables below.
The Integrated Review and Spending Review (IR/SR) introduced greater flexibility in how Defence could employ its workforce types (Armed Forces Regular, Reserve, Defence Civilian and Contractors). This has made the continued use of a fixed workforce requirement for individual components of the Whole Force less appropriate. We are in the process of agreeing a new Indicative Planned Strength (IPS) which reflects both the Whole Force Strategic Workforce plans that are being finalised and changes in organisational structure introduced following the IR/SR. Comparison of the IPS and published statistics on Armed Forces strength will make any shortfalls evident.
Table 1: UK Regular1 Personnel Intake2 by Gender4 in the past five years5 in each Service |
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| 1 Oct 2018 to 30 Sep 2019 | 1 Oct 2019 to 30 Sep 2020 | 1 Oct 2020 to 30 Sep 2021 | 1 Oct 2021 to 30 Sep 2022 | 1 Oct 2022 to 30 Sep 2023 |
Total | 14,880 | 14,590 | 17,070 | 11,980 | 10,470 |
Female | 1,600 | 1,630 | 1,940 | 1,420 | 1,220 |
Male | 13,280 | 12,960 | 15,130 | 10,570 | 9,250 |
RN/RM | 3,290 | 3,780 | 3,950 | 3,160 | 2,400 |
Female | 350 | 390 | 420 | 310 | 280 |
Male | 2,940 | 3,400 | 3,520 | 2,850 | 2,120 |
Army | 9,080 | 8,470 | 10,600 | 6,760 | 6,310 |
Female | 820 | 880 | 1,030 | 730 | 660 |
Male | 8,260 | 7,590 | 9,570 | 6,030 | 5,650 |
RAF | 2,510 | 2,330 | 2,520 | 2,060 | 1,760 |
Female | 440 | 360 | 490 | 380 | 280 |
Male | 2,080 | 1,970 | 2,040 | 1,680 | 1,480 |
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| Source: Analysis (Tri-Service) |
Table 2: FR203 Personnel Intake by Gender4 in the Past five Financial Years5 in each Service |
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| 1 Oct 2018 to 30 Sep 2019 | 1 Oct 2019 to 30 Sep 2020 | 1 Oct 2020 to 30 Sep 2021 | 1 Oct 2021 to 30 Sep 2022 | 1 Oct 2022 to 30 Sep 2023 |
Total | 5,710 | 5,020 | 5,700 | 3,720 | 3,780 |
Female | 900 | 760 | 950 | 600 | 540 |
Male | 4,820 | 4,270 | 4,750 | 3,120 | 3,240 |
RM/RN | 970 | 800 | 770 | 350 | 470 |
Female | 150 | 150 | 150 | 70 | 50 |
Male | 820 | 640 | 610 | 280 | 420 |
Army | 4,080 | 3,680 | 4,440 | 2,890 | 2,880 |
Female | 540 | 470 | 690 | 400 | 390 |
Male | 3,540 | 3,210 | 3,750 | 2,490 | 2,490 |
RAF | 660 | 550 | 500 | 480 | 430 |
Female | 200 | 130 | 110 | 130 | 100 |
Male | 460 | 420 | 390 | 350 | 330 |
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| Source: Analysis (Tri-Service) |
Notes/Caveats:
1. UK Regulars comprise Full time Service personnel, including Nursing Services, but excluding Full Time Reserve Service personnel, Gurkhas, mobilised Reservists, Military Provost Guard Service, Locally Engaged Personnel, Non Regular Permanent Staff, High Readiness Reserve and Expeditionary Forces Institute personnel. Unless otherwise stated, includes Trained and Untrained personnel.
2. Intake comprises all personnel joining the Armed Forces either as new entrants or re-entrants.
3. Future Reserves 2020 (FR20) includes Volunteer Reserves who are mobilised, High Readiness Reserve (HRR) 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, Expeditionary Forces Institute, University Officer Cadets and Regular Reservists are excluded.
4. Gender is a self-reported field on the Joint Personnel Administration System.
5. The yearly Intake-Periods are defined as the 12 months ending 30 September for each respective year.
6. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10 in line with disclosure control policy. Figures ending in 5 are rounded to the nearest 20 to avoid systematic bias. Please note that due to rounding, the total figures in the above tables may not equal the corresponding sum of figures for each Service.
7. These figures can be found in Tables 7 and 23 in the last five October Editions of the "UK Armed Forces Biannual Diversity Statistics" published on the gov.uk website: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/uk-armed-forces-biannual-diversity-statistics-index
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Callanan on 22 November that "it is up to 10 times more expensive" to bury power lines (HL Deb col 740), what evidence they have to support that conclusion.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The evidence to support the claim that underground lines can be up to 10 times more expensive than overhead lines comes from an independent 2012 report endorsed by the Institution of Engineering & Technology called “Electricity Transmission Costing Study”, which can be found at https://www.theiet.org/impact-society/factfiles/energy-factfiles/energy-generation-and-policy/electricity-transmission-costing/ (also attached).
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports of the involvement of President Bashar al-Assad, family and friends in the manufacture and export of Captagon.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK continues to engage extensively with international partners on Syrian captagon, including those across the Middle East and the Gulf who are most directly impacted by this illicit trade. The UK also continues to raise captagon at the UN Security Council.
This illicit industry allows Asad to fund his war machine whilst spreading instability across the region. The Syrian regime are at the heart of producing and manufacturing captagon, this includes Asad's immediate family members and other malign groups. The UK, working with partners, sanctioned individuals directly involved in the captagon industry in March 2023, including two of Asad's cousins.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with international partners about stopping the illegal export of Captagon from Syrian criminals.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK continues to engage extensively with international partners on Syrian captagon, including those across the Middle East and the Gulf who are most directly impacted by this illicit trade. The UK also continues to raise captagon at the UN Security Council.
This illicit industry allows Asad to fund his war machine whilst spreading instability across the region. The Syrian regime are at the heart of producing and manufacturing captagon, this includes Asad's immediate family members and other malign groups. The UK, working with partners, sanctioned individuals directly involved in the captagon industry in March 2023, including two of Asad's cousins.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the value of the illegal trade in Captagon.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
In December 2021, the Government launched its ten-year drugs strategy, From Harm to Hope, to cut crime and save lives. As part of this, £300 million has been allocated to fund activity to break drug supply chains from end-to-end, this includes restricting upstream flow, securing the UK border, and ensuring we remain agile in the face of changing threats. Further, an additional £780 million will fund the first three years of an ambitious, decade-long transformation of drug treatment and wider recovery support in England.
Specifically, in relation to captagon, the UK remains engaged with likeminded partners and regional states to combat this and is drawing international attention to the issue (for example at the UN Security Council including the most recent meeting on Syria on 30 October).
The UK recognises that the production and smuggling of captagon is a lucrative trade, which provides illicit revenue streams to multiple actors, notably the Asad regime and its supporters . We have not assessed the value of the global captagon market and independent estimates vary significantly.
The National Crime Agency regularly assess the threat posed to the UK by the trafficking of illicit drugs, and currently assess that there is no direct UK facing threat. To date, no instances of captagon being seized at a UK border have been recorded.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to stop the availability of Captagon in England.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
In December 2021, the Government launched its ten-year drugs strategy, From Harm to Hope, to cut crime and save lives. As part of this, £300 million has been allocated to fund activity to break drug supply chains from end-to-end, this includes restricting upstream flow, securing the UK border, and ensuring we remain agile in the face of changing threats. Further, an additional £780 million will fund the first three years of an ambitious, decade-long transformation of drug treatment and wider recovery support in England.
Specifically, in relation to captagon, the UK remains engaged with likeminded partners and regional states to combat this and is drawing international attention to the issue (for example at the UN Security Council including the most recent meeting on Syria on 30 October).
The UK recognises that the production and smuggling of captagon is a lucrative trade, which provides illicit revenue streams to multiple actors, notably the Asad regime and its supporters . We have not assessed the value of the global captagon market and independent estimates vary significantly.
The National Crime Agency regularly assess the threat posed to the UK by the trafficking of illicit drugs, and currently assess that there is no direct UK facing threat. To date, no instances of captagon being seized at a UK border have been recorded.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the availability of Captagon in England.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
In December 2021, the Government launched its ten-year drugs strategy, From Harm to Hope, to cut crime and save lives. As part of this, £300 million has been allocated to fund activity to break drug supply chains from end-to-end, this includes restricting upstream flow, securing the UK border, and ensuring we remain agile in the face of changing threats. Further, an additional £780 million will fund the first three years of an ambitious, decade-long transformation of drug treatment and wider recovery support in England.
Specifically, in relation to captagon, the UK remains engaged with likeminded partners and regional states to combat this and is drawing international attention to the issue (for example at the UN Security Council including the most recent meeting on Syria on 30 October).
The UK recognises that the production and smuggling of captagon is a lucrative trade, which provides illicit revenue streams to multiple actors, notably the Asad regime and its supporters . We have not assessed the value of the global captagon market and independent estimates vary significantly.
The National Crime Agency regularly assess the threat posed to the UK by the trafficking of illicit drugs, and currently assess that there is no direct UK facing threat. To date, no instances of captagon being seized at a UK border have been recorded.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to make the provision of reliable Wi-Fi on trains a condition of awarding franchises.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
His Majesty’s Government supports improving digital connectivity on the railways and are working closely with the rail industry to consider ways to deliver better connectivity.
Train operators are currently required, through franchise agreements, to provide free Wi-Fi on trains and, where required through Committed Obligations, further interventions on trains.