John Baron MP presses Defence Secretary on ‘misguided’ Army Reserve reforms

MP questions reserve forces mobilisation rate – no answer from Government

Today the Defence Reform Bill had its Second Reading in the House of Commons. The Bill is concerned with changes to defence procurement, as well as implementing some of the Government’s reforms to the Army Reserve.

In the House of Commons, John said,

“Some of us are concerned that misguided Army Reserve plans will throw up false economies and unacceptable capability gaps. Given that the present Territorial Army mobilisation rate is 40%, will he explain how we are trying to plug a gap from the loss of 20,000 regular troops with only 30,000 reservists? A 40% figure would suggest we need nearer 50,000 reservists.”

The Secretary of State for Defence, Rt Hon Philip Hammond MP, was unable to answer the specific question. He instead replied that he was confident that he will be able to deliver the force as set out, and that that force will support the level of ambition for deployment outlined in the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2010.

Afterwards, John said,

“The MoD’s own figures reveal the TA can currently only mobilise 40% of its soldiers. This is a major spanner in the works, and the Government must set out how it will resolve this issue.”

“Many question the wisdom of the Government’s plan to scrap 20,000 regular soldiers before the Army Reserve has proved it can plug the resulting capability gap. There are also real concerns that the reforms will not deliver the cost savings the Government is anticipating.”

Ends

Word Count: 252

Date: 17^th July 2013