The plan reports intake exceeding outflow for the Royal Navy and Royal Marines since January 2025, the RAF since October 2025, and the Army since April 2026. Proposed recall changes would raise liability to age 65 and permit recall for warlike preparations as well as the existing emergency conditions. The discussion questions how much funding and support would accompany those wider obligations. The spending figures include £530 million for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, whose workforce has taken industrial action. An Army target of 76,000 personnel appears without equivalent target strengths for the Navy and Air Force. Later growth intentions remain dependent on future political decisions.
Chapter · 5:12:44-5:18:24
Personnel policy expands recall while support remains thin
Intake has overtaken departures, but expanded reserve recall and the Army growth target leave questions about support and the other services' size.