Research shows that over 70 per cent of the Army’s visits to schools were made in the North of England he Defence Select Committee, appointed by the House of Commons stated in 2005 that “it is a generally accepted truth that the Army recruits most of its soldiers from the lowest socio-economic groups in the country.” “The status of a soldier, while often admired, has never been high, and joining the Army has always been seen as a good option for young people with few qualifications or difficult pasts,” they said. The Ministry of Defence refuted the Defence Select Committee’s statement, saying “The MoD does not collect data on the socio-economic status of its personnel since this does not relate to any of its key performance targets.” “There is little evidence to substantiate claims that the military recruits from the lower socio-economic backgrounds.” Despite the fact that the public seem to be subconsciously aware of this recruitment practice, the Ministry of Defence has always maintained that it does not seek to recruit those from lower socio-economic backgrounds. This investigation has brought evidence to the surface which shows that the Army does in fact specifically target the poorest cities in the country. Through the Freedom of Information Act, a list of every school and college which the Armed Forces had visited in the last three years was requested. The number of times each school had been visited was also requested. Although the Ministry was unable to provide complete records for the Air Force or Navy, they were able to provide the data for the Army. Careful analysis of the data provided some conclusive results. Between 7th February 2008 and 8th February 2011, the Army made a total of 4,304 recorded visits, at 922 education establishments. This included both state and independent institutions. The map (see right) highlights the number of visits made to each establishment. Colour-coding each county by the total number of visits made, it became apparent that there was a massive north-south divide. The map shows that the British Army is
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focusing a huge amount of their resources into education establishments in the north. Even Greater London with a population of 7.5 million and more schools than any other city in the country, pales in comparison to the number of visits made in counties such as South Yorkshire. The economic north-south divide is a well-researched and documented phenomenon. Data from The National Office of Statistics suggests that income, political influence and health are all likely to suffer as a result of the divide. The Ministry of Defence was keen to stress that these visits were not about recruitment. A spokesman said: “The Armed Forces do not recruit in schools. Armed Forces Presentations Teams, however, do undertake visits to many state and public schools across the UK. The purpose of these visits is to raise students’ awareness of the Armed Forces and their place in a democratic society whilst building interest in the Services and the wide range of careers available.” However, a retired teacher in South Yorkshire disagreed. The former Sheffield College manager, who asked to remain anonymous, said: “The difference between ‘Presentation Teams’ and ‘recruiters’ is a matter of semantics. They visit in hopes that one of these kids will walk through the doors of the recruitment office. It’s that simple.” Sheffield College received 45 visits by the Army. The towns of Sheffield, Barnsley, Rotherham and Doncaster had a combined total of 433 visits - over 10 per cent of the total. The city most visited by the Presentation Teams was Hull and surrounding areas, with 274 recorded visits - over 6 per cent of the total figure. This was followed closely by Sunderland with 196 visits. Greater London and all of its surrounding areas had a total of 171 visits in the same time-span, highlighting the intensity of the Army’s campaigns in the north. The MoD stated that the RAF and Navy’s records were not kept in any official format. Given that the Presentation Teams work in a sensitive environment with children, many may be concerned that the MoD does not maintain a record of each visit.
All data and fully interactive maps available at: journalismandresearch.co.uk (see back page for more details)
Number of visits by Army very high (16+ visits)
Right: Heat map of Army visits in England highlights targeting of the most deprived
above average (5-15 visits)
average (1-5 visits) no recorded visits
Due North MAP OF VISIT HOTSPOTS
continued on next page...
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Due North OVER 50 PER CENT ON FREE SCHOOL MEALS
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VISITS MADE BY ARMY PRESENTATION TEAMS
Hungry for more:
Free School Meals data shows targeting of the most deprived here are many factors that can be taken into account when measuring socio-economic status. The most indepth analysis of deprivation carried out in England so far is the Indices of Multiple Deprivation conducted by the Department for Communities and Local Government. Developed by the Social Disadvantage Research Centre at the University of Oxford, the study provides a ‘deprivation score’ for very small areas of the country. These areas are roughly the size of a ward and the score is based on several factors including income, employment, health, education, accessibility to services, living environment and crime. Because the data measures such small areas, it is hard to provide a visualisation of the entire country. However, the data does allow an accurate list to be built, showing the poorest and richest cities in the country (see below). Using this information, seven random cities were pulled from the most affluent parts of the country. The same was done for the least affluent. The graph (see bottom left) shows the number of Army visits in both the highest and lowest brackets. Within the random sample, there were 350 visits in the poorest areas of the country, versus 10 visits in the highest. Finally, it was necessary to understand deprivation in a context more relevant to the schools that the
Army was visiting. The Department for Education provided data for every school in the country and the percentage of children on the Free School Meals (FSM) Programme in each school. Free School Meals have long been used as an indication of poverty in localised areas. In order to highlight the most deprived areas, only the schools with more than half of their students on the FSM programme were used in the analysis. By comparing (top left), the areas where Free School Meals are highest and the areas where the Army is focusing its attention, a correlation becomes apparent.
10 most deprived areas in UK
10 least deprived areas in UK
Liverpool Middlesbrough Manchester Knowsley Kingston Upon Hull Hackney Tower Hamlets Birmingham Blackpool Hartlepool
Hart Wokingham Surrey Heath Elmbridge Waverley St Albans Chiltern Epsom and Ewell Rushcliffe Mole Valley
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Left: FSM vs. Army Visits
Left: Income vs. Army Visits
verall, these findings would suggest that the Army has a premeditated and organised recruitment strategy, dedicating the majority of its time and money to recruitment in the poorest areas of the nation. The United Kingdom is one of the most secretive states in the world. The Ministry of Defence is no exception and traditionally denies something until it is proven true. Invariably the MoD changes its official position as revelations come to light. Until now they have adamantly denied targeting the poorest members of society. This data has been sent to them for comment. To date, a response has not been received. ◆
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Education he education levels amongst non-officer Army recruits has been historically low, but exactly how low is another figure that is shrouded in mystery. The most recent study was carried out as part of a Defence Select Committee review in 2005. The information was pulled from TAFMIS (Training Administration and Financial Management Information System), the MoD’s recruitment database. It revealed that more than 50 per cent of new Army recruits had the literacy and numeracy skills at or below the levels expected of an 11 year-old. The data also suggested that recruits have on average 0.9% of GCSE each. The Ministry of Defence admitted in the report, that they had not adequately recorded the levels of education of their new recruits. They have now put measures in place to improve understanding of the educational requirements of their personnel. In 2008 the MoD partnered with The National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE) to launch a three-year programme called the Armed Forces Basic Skills Longitudinal Study. The study is ultimately aimed at improving the basic skills of Armed Forces personnel. The Armed Forces state that they have a long-standing commitment to furthering the education of their military staff. However, a serving member of the Royal Air Force said that it was much more difficult than the advertising would have people believe. Craig Armstrong, 27, said: “They will get you your GCSEs but that’s about it. A-Levels, degree, anything like that, forget it. There is so much red tape to get through that most people don’t even bother.” While the Armed Forces seem to be taking the relevant measures to ensure that their personnel are being brought up to an acceptable level in key skills, the fact that such a vast number of recruits are under-educated at the point of recruitment is something that remains unaddressed. In fact this lack of education amongst new recruits is one element of a much larger ethical debate. If the average recruit has the reading ability of an 11 year-old, is it acceptable to assume that they will have a full and thorough understanding of the requirements of military life? ◆
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