Armed Forces: Schools

Dr. Fox
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many requests for schools presentation team visits from each service his Department has received in each year since 2005.

Mr. Kevan Jones
Data regarding requests for visits by Royal Navy and Army school presentation teams are not recorded centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Data denoting requests made to the RAF Presentation Team and Inspectorate of Recruiting Youth Outreach Teams are provided in the following table:

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|       |Requests|
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|2005-06|137     |
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|2006-07|125     |
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|2007-08|119     |
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|2008-09|139     |
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Dr. Fox
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans his Department has to expand provision of the Combined Cadet Forces in state schools; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Kevan Jones
Combined Cadet Force (CCF) expansion will be achieved on a regional basis where resources allow.

The Ministry of Defence is investigating how we can increase the number of young people who have the opportunity to benefit from the Cadet experience. The Cadet experience is delivered by the four Cadet Forces (the Combined Cadet Force, the Sea Cadet Corps, the Army Cadet Force, and the Air Training Corps). The experience is not just delivered in school-based units, which are mainly CCFs, but also in community based units.

The Ministry of Defence has identified three principles to take forward the development of sustainable Cadet Forces. These are: the need for a coherent, coordinated and sustainable expansion; working within current resources with investigation into additional sources for further funding and; to attract, retain and equip Cadet Force Adult Volunteers to build the Cadet Forces of the future.

As part of this work, the Air Cadet Organisation has already announced plans to increase its cadet numbers by 10,000 by 2018.

The Ministry of Defence is working with Department for Children, Schools and Families, devolved Administrations and others to seek additional funding to further expand cadet activities.