Military Bands
(asked on 5th February 2025) - View Source
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of armed forces personnel are serving in military bands; and what funding his Department has made available to military bands.
The Government is proud of those who serve in our military bands. They not only support all year-round engagements but also serve secondary roles supporting defence. Armed Forces personnel who serve in military bands have a secondary specialisation in support of operations; for example those in the Army support deployed medicine; Naval personnel can form part of a medical team on board a casualty-receiving facility, and Royal Air Force Musicians are also trained in the Counter-CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radioactive and Nuclear) role of establishing and running a Casualty Decontamination Area, a declared NATO capability.
The number and proportion of Royal Navy/Royal Marines (RN/RM) and Royal Air Force (RAF) Full-Time Trained Strength (FTTS) and Army Full-Time Trade Trained Strength (FTTTS) Personnel serving in Military Bands as at 1 April 2024 was:
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|
| |
Service | Total | Officers | Other Ranks |
Strength of Military Bands | 1,190 | 55 | 1,135 |
Proportion of FTTS/FTTTS | 0.9% | 0.2% | 1.1% |
RN/RM | 345 | 15 | 330 |
Proportion of RN/RM FTTS | 1.2% | 0.2% | 1.5% |
Army | 692 | 36 | 656 |
Proportion of Army FTTTS | 1.0% | 0.3% | 1.1% |
RAF | 153 | 4 | 149 |
Proportion of RAF FTTS | 0.5% | 0.1% | 0.5% |
Source: Analysis (Tri-Service)
In the most recent Financial Year (FY, 2023-24), expenditure on all band activity was as follows:
Service | Expenditure in FY 2023-24 (£Million) |
RN/RM | 1.650 |
Army | 7.334 |
Royal Air Force | 0.648 |