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Infantry

Volume 448: debated on Wednesday 5 July 2006

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the average cost is of (a) recruitment of an infantryman and (b) training an infantryman from recruitment to being ready for overseas deployment in an active formation in the latest period for which figures are available. (82518)

The average costs of recruiting and training an infantryman during financial year 2004-05, the latest period for which figures are available, were as follows:

Financial year 2004-05

Costs (£)

Recruitment/selection

7,000

Training phase 1 and 2—the Combat Infantryman Course

23,000

Notes: 1. Costs are calculated on an accrual basis and include non cash items such as depreciation and cost of capital. 2. Only costs that are within the Army Recruiting and Training Division spend are included. 3. There has been no apportionment of indirect headquarters costs to the training and recruiting outputs

Training of infantry recruits is conducted at the Infantry Training Centre (ITC) Catterick. Since 2000 the infantry have had a combined phase 1 and 2 course at Catterick, the Combat Infantry Course, which prepares the infantryman for his first appointment with the field Army.

Once an infantryman has completed his Combat Infantryman Course at ITC Catterick, he is ready to be deployed on operational service after the completion of the appropriate pre-deployment training, the cost of which is negligible.

All infantrymen will also undergo phase 3 training during their career, known as Career Training, which provides the soldier with professional development and career progression once he has joined his regiment; this training is also conducted through the ITC and costs on average £8,000.