Defence written question – answered at on 13 May 2013.
Cathy Jamieson
Shadow Minister (Treasury)
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many new recruits to the infantry were aged (a) 16, (b) 17 and (c) 18 or above at enlistment in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.
Mark Francois
The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence
Information on the number of untrained regular soldiers enlisted into the infantry aged 16, 17 and 18 and above since April 2007 is shown in the following table.
| Age on intake/enlistment | |||
| Year of intake (financial year) | 16 | 17 | Over 18 |
| 2007-08 | 740 | 980 | 2,700 |
| 2008-09 | 760 | 850 | 3,290 |
| 2009-10 | 650 | 650 | 3,300 |
| 2010-11 | 610 | 480 | 2,240 |
| 2011-12 | 580 | 690 | 3,290 |
| 2012-13 | 250 | 440 | 2,590 |
| Note: The information is shown in recruiting years, which run from April to March. The figures are for untrained Regular Army only and therefore exclude Gurkhas, Full Time Reserve Service, Mobilised Reserves, Territorial Army and all other Reserves, but include those personnel that have transferred from the Gurkhas to the Regular Army. Age is based on the date of intake.The totals for 2012-13 relate to the period from April 2012 to February 2013. | |||
Information prior to 2007 is not held in the format requested.
Yes4 people think so
No8 people think not
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