Written question asked by Paul Keetch (Liberal Democrat) on Thursday, 16 January 2003, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 28 January 2003. It was answered by Lord Moonie (Labour) on Tuesday, 28 January 2003 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Ministry of Defence

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many reservists served in (a) the Gulf War, (b) Kosovo and (c) Afghanistan; and what percentage of those fit for active duty this represented at the time. - Inc figures.

Answer: Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many reservists served in (a) the Gulf War, (b) Kosovo and (c) Afghanistan; and what percentage of those fit for active duty this represented at the time. [92137] Dr. Moonie: As of 22 January, 588 reservists have served in support of operations in Afghanistan. This figure excludes a small number of RAF reservists who served in Afghanistan between 1 July 2002 and 22 January 2003 for which figures are currently unavailable. It is not possible to state what percentage of those reservists fit for active duty this represented as the state of health for members of the reserve forces changes from day to day. A reservist's fitness for active duty only becomes apparent either when they report for service or if they make an application for revocation, exemption or deferral of call-out based on their health. In the time available it has not been possible to collate information regarding the number of reservists who served in Kosovo or during the 1990-91 Gulf conflict as this is not held centrally.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 92137; 398 c843W;398 c840W
Session: 2002-03
Subjects: Armed forces Armed conflict Deployment Iraq-Kuwait conflict Reserve forces Afghanistan Kosovo
Contains statistics: Yes
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk