MOD Releases Latest UK Armed Forces Manning Figures

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26 August 2010

Figures showing that the UK Armed Forces are currently at 99.7per cent of their full time Trained Strength requirement have been released today by the MOD. This is up from 97.4per cent a year ago and shows a continued upward trend

18,630new recruits have joined the UK Regular Forces in the 12 months to 30 June 2010. This is a decrease of 5,010 from the 12 months to 30 June 2009 as the Armed Forces are now very nearly fully manned, meaning there is a reduced intake requirement.

The statistics also show that the number of people leaving the Trained Strength of the UK Regular Forces in the 12 months to 30 June 2010 has fallen by 9.8per cent (1,990 people) compared with the same period a year ago.

As at 1 July 2010, the full time Trained Strength of the UK Armed Forces was 178,380against a target of 178,880.This comprises 173,930UK Regular Forces, 830Full Time Reserve Service personnel and 3,610Gurkhas.

Under Secretary of State, Andrew Robathan said:

"It is encouraging to see that a career in our Armed Forces is proving to be a popular choice, so much so that we are at almost 100 percent of our manning requirement. Our personnel are some of the best in the world and the work they are doing in operational theatres and back in the UK demonstrates this. Although the numbers of people we need to recruit have reduced, recruitment continues and, with more people staying in the Armed Forces too, we continue to strengthen all three services."

Since 1 July 2009, the proportion of females in the UK Regular Forces has remained static at 12.1per cent for officers and risen from 9.0per cent to 9.1per cent for other ranks.

The percentage of UK Regular Forces from ethnic minority backgrounds has remained static at 6.6per centof UK Regular Forces since 1 July 2009.

Notes to Editors:

All tables presented in this publication meet the high standards of quality and integrity demanded by the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.
Due to ongoing validation of data from the Joint Personnel Administration System the following statistics are provisional and may be revised: all Naval Service flow statistics from period ending 31 October 2006, and Naval Service strength statistics from 1 May 2007; all Army flow statistics from period ending 31 March 2007 and strengths statistics from 1 April 2007; and all Royal Air Forces flow statistics from period ending 30 April 2007 and strength statistics from 1 May 2007. DASA have initiated a major review of all provisional JPA data and will revise where required. This work is due to be completed during 2010. Revisions to strength figures are likely to be less than 0.5% of the provisional figure. Revisions of provisional flows could be as high as 50% because individual flow figures can be much smaller.
April 07 was the first ever tri-service pay run for HM Armed Forces, resulting in a 99.2% accuracy rate and figures for both May and June 07 have achieved over 99.5% accuracy. JPA is a major business change programme (similar to the People Programme for civilians) and one of the most complex ever to be undertaken in either the private or public sector. The supporting computer software application is one of the largest Oracle HR implementations worldwide, that makes the fullest use of the functionality of the software, and is the largest single payroll. The system contains around 350,000 records (nearly 1 million if pensioners are included) and supports 300,000 users worldwide from the regular and reserve forces. Nowhere has a more complex dataset - around 24 million lines of data - been so successfully migrated.
JPA is accessible from anywhere in the world and allows individuals to update on-line certain pieces of personal information, such as bank details and their home address. JPA also allows individuals to access their pay statements, apply for leave, submit travel, allowances and expense claims and undertake other basic personnel tasks.
The Service Personnel Plan provides a structure for the prioritisation and delivery of Service personnel policy over the next 15 years. It reflects the challenges and opportunities that the operational environment, demographic changes and the changing expectations of personnel and their families present to our aim of delivering sufficient, capable and motivated Armed Forces personnel. Under the auspices of the Service Personnel Plan, work is underway to ensure the effective delivery of remuneration to meet the need to recruit, retain and motivate sufficient, capable individuals to meet manning requirements.
The total Armed Forces manning requirement has increased due to previously announced restructuring across the Services. This restructuring is designed to improve capability and flexibility in order to meet the demands of current and future operations.
All figures and percentages exclude the Home Service battalions of the Royal Irish Regiment and Reservists mobilised for service.
The UK Armed Forces Quarterly Manning Report is available at: www.dasa.mod.uk