Written question asked by Lord Astor of Hever (Conservative), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Baroness Taylor of Bolton (Labour) on Wednesday, 3 February 2010.

Afghanistan

Question: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to address the operational impact of 5,000 infantry personnel being determined unfit for operations in Afghanistan.

Answer: As at 1 October 2009, just under 89 per cent of infantry strength was classified as deployable. This figure includes those personnel who have some limitations placed on the roles they can perform on operations. This means approximately 2,650 personnel who are unable to deploy, but the vast majority of whom are contributing to military capability in supporting roles in home locations. A little under half of these service men and women are unable to deploy for non-medical reasons, such as compassionate or disciplinary circumstances, or because they are under the age of 18. We continue to monitor the situation closely and have arrangements in place to support all our personnel suffering injury or illness to ensure, wherever possible, their return to full duty. It should be noted that all infantry units deploy on operations at the required strength for the tasks they are asked to undertake. Units are given tasks that reflect their actual manning levels, or are reinforced from regular or reserve units in order to meet specific tasks.

Secondary information