Written questions by Twigg.

How many chefs were in post in the Army in each year since 2010; and what the requirement was in each of those years.

The number of chefs in post for the Army since 2010 are as follows: Year*Total2024868202392020229452021973202099220191,06120181,13620171,18620161,22220151,28120141,58620131,96920122,29620112,55620102,547 *The figure for each year was extrapolated from the number in post on 01 April for each respective year We do not routinely release the workforce requirement figures of Army regiments or specialist professions as doing so is likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.

How many nurses were in post in the (a) Royal Navy, (b) Army and (c) RAF in each year since 2010; and what the requirement was in each service in each of those years.

I hope that my Rt Hon friend will understand that I am withholding the information as its disclosure would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces. Whilst a statistical release of overall Armed Forces strength is published annually, strength and capability statistics for certain specialisations are not released. Releasing the current strength and requirement of medical service personnel could be exploited by our adversaries to target, disrupt and degrade an important element of Armed Forces capability.

How many (a) air and (b) ground stewards were in post in the RAF in each year since 2010; and what the requirement was in each of those years.

The number of Logistics (Air Ground Stewards) in the Royal Air Force in each year since 2010 is as follows: Ground StewardsTotal01 April 201048201 April 201146401 April 201243501 April 201340801 April 201439501 April 201539001 April 201639201 April 201737201 April 201834901 April 201933301 April 202033001 April 202133901 April 202233101 April 202331201 April 2024291 Data is unable to be broken down by Air Steward and Ground Steward specialisation. I am withholding the information requested for the workforce requirement as its disclosure would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.

How many veterinary officers were in post in the Army in each year since 2010; and what the requirement was in each of those years.

The number of veterinary officers in post for the Army since 2010 are as follows. Year*Total202441202343202245202145202041201940201843201741201635201535201441201341201237201136201035*The figure for each year was extrapolated from the number in post on 01 April for each respective year We do not routinely release the workforce requirement figures of Army regiments or specialist professions as doing so is likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.

When he decided not to release the workforce requirement figures of Army regiments for reasons of operational security.

In 2022, with Departmental support, the Army adopted a position not to release the workforce requirement of its internal organisations following the announcement of the Integrated Review and Future Soldier transformation. I am happy to speak to my hon. Friend about this further.

How many working dogs the Army had in each year since 2010; and what the requirement was in each of those years.

As at 23 January 2025, there were 113 trained Military Working Dogs (MWD) in the British Army. Determining whether an annual breakdown of MWD in the Army could be provided for each year since 2010 could only be achieved at a disproportionate cost due to information being held in different formats. We would not routinely release the requirement for Military Working Animals due to reasons of operational security.

How many engineers there were in post in the (a) Royal Navy, (b) Army and (c) RAF in each year since 2010.

This information is being withheld as it would prejudice the capability, security and effectiveness of UK Armed Forces, and could provide tactical advantage to hostile forces.

What estimate he has made of the average waiting times in Accident and Emergency for each Acute Hospital Trust in the Cheshire and Merseyside ICB area.

Information on accident and emergency performance is published monthly by NHS England. The headline metric used is the four-hour accident and emergency waiting time standard. This data is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ae-waiting-times-and-activity/Provisional data is published on median average waiting times in emergency departments by National Health Service provider. This data is available at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/provisional-accident-and-emergency-quality-indicators-for-england

What estimate he has made of the average waiting times for a first appointment following a routine referral to vascular services at (a) Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and (b) Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

The mean average waiting time from referral to the first outpatient appointment for patients under vascular services at the Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is 78 days. For the Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, a breakdown of the data on vascular services is not currently held by the Department.The Elective Reform Plan outlines our commitments on reforming outpatient care to reduce waiting times for first and subsequent appointments. These include improving the NHS App and the Manage Your Referral Website to give patients more control over their outpatient care, increasing Advice and Guidance to ensure that patient care takes place in the right setting, and reducing missed appointments and less clinically valuable follow ups. These reforms will help to free up clinicians’ time and reduce waiting times for those patients who most need care, including first appointments and clinically necessary follow ups. Outpatient transformation will help fulfil the Government’s commitment that 92% of patients return to waiting no longer than 18 weeks from Referral to Treatment by March 2029, a standard which has not been met consistently since September 2015.

What the bed occupancy rate is in each Acute Hospital Trust in the Cheshire and Merseyside ICB area.

Bed occupancy rates for each National Health Service trust are published monthly by NHS England. The latest data is for December 2024, and is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/bed-availability-and-occupancy/bed-data-overnight/

How many engineers there were in the Army on 1 April 2024; and what the requirement was.

As of 1 April 2024, there were 26,030 Army Trade Trained Regular, Gurkha and Trained Reserve Engineers. We do not routinely release the workforce requirement figures of Army regiments for reasons of operational security. The Trade Trained Regular Army only exclude Gurkhas, Full Time Reserve Service, Mobilised Reserves, Army Reserve and all other Reserves, but includes those personnel that have transferred from Gurkha Trained Army Personnel (GURTAP) to UK Trained Army Personnel (UKTAP). Reserve figures are for Trained Army Group A Reservists for Army. Group A includes Volunteer Reserves, Mobilised Volunteer Reserves, High Readiness Reserves and University Officer Training Course (OTC) Support & training staff. The 'Engineering' trades listed above are defined in line with the agreed definition from the Defence Engineer Remuneration Review (DERR).

What the Navy training budget was in each year since 2010.

The below table highlights the Royal Navy’s budget for training between financial years (FY) 202018-19 and 2023-24. This includes Phase 1 (basic training) and Phase 2 (initial training) costs. In accordance with standard financial practice in all public and private organisations, it is not possible to provide figures for the entire period requested. YearFY2018-19 FY2019-20 FY2020-21 FY2021-22 FY2022-23 FY2023-24 Total£23.783 million£21.989 million£25.198 million£64.984 million£101.330 million £112.128 million

What the Army training budget was in each year since 2010.

The Department has interpreted training to mean the budget for direct training exercises only. This includes Phase 1 (basic training) and Phase 2 (initial training) costs. The below table highlights the Army’s budget for training between financial years (FY)2018-19 and 2023-24. As a result of changes in accounting practices, it is not possible to provide figures for the entire period requested. YearFY2018-19 FY2019-20 FY2020-21 FY2021-22 FY2022-23 FY2023-24 Total£90.998 million£95.057 million£93.499 million£91.225 million£98.883 million£104.749 million

What the RAF training budget was in each year since 2010.

The below table provides the Royal Air Force budget for training between financial years (FY)2018-19 and 2023-24. This includes Phase 1 (basic training) and Phase 2 (initial training) costs. It is not possible to provide figures for the entire period requested. YearFY2018-19FY2019-20FY2020-21FY2021-22FY202-23FY2023-24Total£55.482 million£73.274 million£65.237 million£70.998 million£66.007 million£86.206 million

What the (a) number of and (b) requirement for medical service personnel was on 1 April 2024.

I am withholding the information as its disclosure would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces. Whilst a statistical release of overall Armed Forces strength is published annually, strength and capability statistics for certain specialisations are not released. Releasing the current strength and requirement of medical service personnel, or indeed other specialised professions, could be exploited by our adversaries to target, disrupt and degrade an important element of Armed Forces capability.

How many injured service personal required rehabilitation services in each armed service in each year since 2015; and how much his Department on rehabilitation of injured service personnel in each service in the same period.

The table below presents the number of UK Armed Forces personnel who have had at least one appointment at Primary Care Rehabilitation Facilities (PCRF), Regional Rehabilitation Units (RRU) and/or Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre (DMRC) in each year since 2015, broken down by service. YearTotalNavyArmyRAF201558,1449,45036,80711,824201657,3329,34836,05311,847201755,6059,52334,65311,346201853,3189,37132,64111,229201952,9819,67831,77511,446202042,1387,90525,2008,959202145,5268,64027,5249,281202246,6738,95927,9209,739202345,1378,69626,8289,572202445,2178,54727,2039,410 The table below presents the total spent on rehabilitation at Regional Rehabilitation Units (RRUs), Defence Primary Health Care Rehab Headquarters and the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre (DMRC) from the start of 2015 to 8 January 2025.The figures below do not include costs for Primary Care Rehab Facilities (PCRFs). PCRFs provide primary rehabilitation for Service Personnel who do not require referral into an RRU. PCRFs costs are embedded within Medical Centres and the costs cannot be extracted. As rehabilitation is delivered in a tri-service environment, it is not possible to break this data down by Service. Financial YearTotal £2015-1628,391,5152016-1722,895,4612017-1827,841,5732018-1931,852,3922019-2040,041,5382020-2132,473,5822021-2235,275,9412022-2339,037,7362023-2441,468,5342024-2530,885,020Total332,536,267

What the sickness rate was for service personnel by rank in each year since 2015.

This information is not held in the format requested.

How many school days were lost due to weather conditions in each year since 2010.

The department does not specifically collect data on school days lost due to weather conditions. From the start of the 2024/25 academic year, it became mandatory for schools to share attendance data with the department. Attendance data can be found at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/pupil-attendance-in-schools. Other attendance statistics and past releases are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-pupil-absence. This shows pupil absence statistics from May 2010 onwards and pupil attendance statistics from September 2022. It is for individual settings and responsible bodies to determine their approach to closure based on their own risk assessment. Closures should be considered a last resort, and the imperative is for settings to remain open where it is safe to do so. Where a school was planning to be open for a session but then has to close unexpectedly, for example due to adverse weather, the attendance register is not taken as usual because there is no session. For statistical purposes this is counted as a ‘not possible’ attendance. Where settings are temporarily closed, individual settings and responsible bodies should consider providing remote education for the duration of the closure in line with departmental guidance. Providing remote education does not change the imperative to remain open, or to reopen as soon as possible. Pupils who are absent from school and receiving remote education still need to be recorded as absent using the most appropriate absence code. Schools should keep a record of and monitor pupil’s engagement with remote education, but this is not formally tracked in the attendance register. Guidance for schools on providing remote education is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/providing-remote-education-guidance-for-schools/providing-remote-education-guidance-for-schools. Additional guidance for parents on remote education is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/providing-remote-education-information-to-parents-template.

What the average number of training days undertaken by serving army personnel was in each year since 2015 by rank.

The Army invests significantly in skills, education and training for its people to build the problem-solving attributes, teamwork, resilience, intellect and creativity needed to be successful now and in the future. A comprehensive professional pipeline trains soldiers and officers from the basics of being a soldier, through progressive levels of trade training, as well as the leadership skills required at all ranks. More broadly, Defence continues to invest in collective training capabilities for its Armed Forces and, under the Future Soldier programme, the Army is modernising collective training to better prepare for the challenges personnel will face in modern warfare. We do not centrally hold the information in the format that has been requested due to the broad range and scope of training that can be undertaken by all Army personnel, including both individual and collective training.

Whether she has had recent discussions with universities on allowing defence companies to attend university (a) careers fairs and (b) events.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has not had recent discussions with universities regarding the attendance of defence companies at career fairs and events. As autonomous institutions, universities have the discretion to decide which companies they invite to such events.