Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the average cost per Army recruit was of (a) recruiting and (b) providing Phase 1 training for recruits (i) under 18 years and (ii) 18 years or above in each of the last three years for which figures are available.
The average cost of recruiting per enlistment in each of the last three years is shown in the table below. This cost is not determined by the age of the individual.
Financial Year | 2014-15 | 2015-16 | 2016-17 |
Cost Per Enlistment | £13,000 | £10,000 | £12,000 |
Basic Training for Regular soldiers is delivered in four core training units: the Army Foundation College (Harrogate) which provides for most recruits under 18 (Junior Entry) and Infantry Training Centre (Catterick), Army Training Centre (Pirbright) and Army Training Regiment (Winchester) for Senior Entry training. Some under 18 recruits who are close enough to their 18th birthday conduct training in Standard Entry and therefore costs are not held by age. The average cost per Army recruit of providing Basic Training in these units is shown below:
Army Foundation College (Harrogate):
Financial Year | 2015-16 | 2016-17 |
Junior Entry (Long) | £87,000 | £86,000 |
Junior Entry (Short) | £39,000 | £37,000 |
Initial Training Centre Catterick (ITC) and Army Training Centre Pirbright (ATC(P))/ Army Training Regiment Winchester (ATR(W)):
Financial Year | 2015-16 | 2016-17 |
ITC | £28,000 | £27,000 |
ATC(P)/ATR(W) | £33,000 | £31,000 |
All figures are single service estimates and are not official statistics produced by Defence Statistics. Information in this format is only available for the last two years due to a change in information systems used to record the information.