asked the Secretary of State for Defence what is the current average age of retirement of each of the ranks in each of the three Services.
Detailed information of the sort requested is not readily available but I will write to my hon. Friend.
asked the Secretary of State for Defence what has been the average number of officers who have requested premature retirement from the Royal Navy, the Royal Air Force and the Army, respectively, during 1974, 1975, 1976 and 1977; and how many are currently awaiting their release.
The number of trained officers who applied to leave the Services prematurely during the period was as follows:
| Royal Navy/Royal Marines | Army | RAF | ||
| 1974 | … | 222 | 647 | 473 |
| 1975 | … | 177 | 526 | 456 |
| 1976 | … | 229 | 515 | 451 |
| 1977 | … | 327 | 794 | 693 |
| RN/RM | … | … | … | … | 288 |
| Army | … | … | … | … | 600 |
| RAF | … | … | … | … | 418* |
| * The figure for the RAF includes officers aged 50 or over who are automatically allowed to leave the Service after giving six months' notice. | |||||
asked the Secretary of State for Defence what the average waiting time has been before release of officers who have requested premature retirement from the Royal Navy, the Royal Air Force and the Army, during the years 1974, 1975, 1976 and 1977.
Comparative figures for these years are not available. Officers may be allowed to leave the Services prematurely at the discretion of the Defence Council, if and when manning and other considerations permit. Although, in some cases, the period is longer, at present most RN/RM officers leave within between nine and 15 months of the date of their application and Army officers after about seven months. In the RAF, the average waiting time between the date of release requested at the time of application and the likely date of release is currently 20 months.