Oral question asked in the House of Commons, by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton (Conservative). It was answered on Monday, 16 July 2007 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Military Recruitment and Retention

Question: Given that the Minister is so keen to improve recruitment, can he explain the ludicrous decision to freeze all recruiting in the Territorial Army next year for units that do not contribute directly to Afghanistan or Iraq? For the sake of £2 million, that will decimate the TA’s future.

Answer: I know that the hon. Gentleman has raised that issue previously on the Floor of the House. Given his background, may I pay tribute to his service? I know that he takes a great interest in the TA, reservists and what is happening. He knows, because we have said so, that TA operations will not be affected by those savings measures. The decision to make a small reduction in funding to the TA was carefully considered, and was targeted at areas that would cause least problems in operational effectiveness.

Secondary information