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Afghanistan and Pakistan

My Lords, like other noble Lords I am interested in the Statement—but I am interested, too, in its timing. We are told that tomorrow we can expect the long-awaited statement from President Obama, and I should have thought that there would have been merit in a statement from our own Government coinciding with that and linking with it, discussing what we are doing in a united operation. My question to the Minister is about sustainment. While, like other noble Lords, I welcome the assurance from the Chief of the Defence Staff that the equipment is there for the additional troops who are going to Afghanistan—as I welcome the Minister’s report about what people say about the quality of equipment—I am worried about sustainment. There are stories about the fact that equipment bought from the urgent operational requirement budget is asked back from the MoD, leading to extra strains on the budget. The other day there was a report of the withdrawal of money for training the Territorial Army. Can the Minister assure us that the additional money needed to provide this equipment will be provided in future to ensure that the extra equipment is sustained for the extra troops in Afghanistan in the years to come?