The Armed Forces Redundancy Schemes
Hansard:
Service Personnel: Fitness
Lord Astor of Hever asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many personnel since April 2003 have been permanently medically downgraded below the standard for their arm or service; of such personnel, how many have been selected for redundancy; and of those that have been selected for redundancy, how many will be eligible for redundancy compensation. [HL719]
Lord Drayson: While the numbers of medically downgraded personnel are centrally held, it is not possible to ascertain whether an individual has been downgraded below the standard for their arm or service, as the data only records when an individual has been medically downgraded to a level below which they are deployable. Deployability is determined by either the physical efficiency standard for Army or the medical employment standard for Navy and RAF. Fitness for arm or service is determined by the PULHHEEMS code (a system of medical classification) and differs for each arm and service.
Of the three services, only the Army and the RAF are running redundancy programmes. In the Army, some 120 officers were selected for redundancy, all of whom, at the time of the redundancy board, met the appropriate medical standards. A second phase of redundancy is still to be made but no personnel have yet been selected for or invited to express an interest in redundancy. In the RAF, of the 855 personnel permanently medically downgraded since April 2003, still serving in the RAF and still medically downgraded, some 15 are due to leave on redundancy terms. All personnel selected for redundancy are entitled to the appropriate redundancy "compensation".