Written question asked by Ben Wallace (Conservative) on Tuesday, 16 April 2024, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 18 April 2024. It was answered by Andrew Murrison (Conservative) on Friday, 19 April 2024 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Reserve Forces

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many former members of the regular Army have regular reserve recall liability in the event of a national emergency as of 1 April 2024.

Answer

As at 1 January 2024 there were 22,676 Army Regular Reservists with recall liability under Section 22 of the Reserve Forces Act (RFA) 96.

In addition, there are approximately 55,000 ex-Regular personnel as of March 2024 subject to recall under Section 68 of the RFA 96.

Notes/caveats:

The number of Army Regular Reservists with a recall liability can only be provided as at 1 January 2024 in line with Published National Statistics.
The Army Regular Reserve comprises ex-Regular Army personnel who retain a workforce obligation to be called up for service in times of need.
This figure includes the serving component which comprises ex-Regular personnel who have applied to return to Army service on a fixed term Reserve commitment.
The second figure comprises of personnel who have completed their military service and retain a liability to be recalled for service in the event of national danger, great emergency or an actual or suspected attack on the UK.
This figure is a single Service estimate based on management information which is not gathered for statistical purposes or subject to the same level of scrutiny as official statistics produced by Defence Statistics. The data as of March 2024 is the latest available.
The c55,000 includes ex-Regular Officers who retain a recall liability in perpetuity.

Secondary information