, Labour’s Shadow Defence
Secretary, commenting on the publication of the
Quarterly Service Personnel Statistics, which show that the
number of trained personnel in the Army, RAF, Royal Navy and
Royal Marines has fallen for the ninth consecutive year, said:
“It is clear that the Conservatives just cannot be trusted with
our country’s defences.
“Year after year they are running down our Armed Forces, with
numbers now well below their own targets. Ministers are either in
complete denial about this crisis in recruitment and retention,
or they are actively in favour of cutting the Armed Forces to
these historically low levels. The new Defence Secretary should
come clean about which it is.
“The next Labour government will rebuild our Armed Forces and
invest in our country’s defences. This will include overhauling
Capita’s useless Army recruitment contract which has failed on
its own terms.”
Ends
Notes to Editors:
- Figures
published today show that the number of fully-trained personnel
in each of the services has fallen from the same point last year.
As of 1 July 19 the number of personnel in the Army is 74,440,
down from 76,880 at the same point last year; the RAF is at
29,930, down from 30,280 last year; the Royal Navy and Royal
Marines are at 29,090, down from 29,150 last year. The full
figures can be viewed here - https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/824753/201907-_SPS.pdf
- The
government’s targets for 2020 are an Army of 82,000, an RAF of
31,750 and a Royal Navy and Royal Marines of 30,450.
