Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Army recruits who left before the end of their Phase 2 training enlisted at the age of (a) 16 and (b) 17 in the last five financial years for which data is available.

The number of soldiers who enlisted at the age of 16 or 17 and left the Army before the end of their Phase Two training in the last five financial years is shown below.

Notes:

1. The figures are for Regular Army only and therefore exclude Gurkhas, Full Time Reserve Service and Mobilised Reserves.

2. Personnel who have left the Army more than once in the last five financial years will be counted each time they left in the table above. Their age on enlistment will vary according to each time they joined the Army.

3. Age on enlistment is calculated using date of birth and entry date recorded on JPA. Where personnel have transferred to the Army from another Service, served under an alternative assignment type (e.g. reserve forces), are re-entrants or have transferred from Other Ranks to Officers, their entry date may correspond to any of these events.