At the BALPA conference, John Monks indicated that for the remainder of their year, until March 2007, they had openings for around 16 pilots. He indicated that there were already people in the system who would probably fill these places. Some of these would be DEPs, some SSPs.
Due to the retirement age being extended to 60, they only have a requirement for 50 pilots between April 07 to March 08, compared to the 160 or so for the past year.
In addition, he indicated that there may be an option for pilots who are over 60 to continue to fly as FOs until they are 65. He mentioned that once over-flight rules were enforced by the ICAO states, then this may happen. I can't recall the exact date when it would be known. Therefore, this was reducing the need for pilots over the next 24 months.
As for growth, he mentioned this was minimal, as the main objective for BA was the move to T5, hence new routes/aircraft would not be significantly changed, thereby reducing the number still further.