John Baron MP presses Defence Secretary over change in Army Reserve plan

MP accuses Government of getting defence on the cheap

Today in the House of Commons, the Defence Secretary, Rt Hon Philip Hammond MP, made a statement regarding the Fourth Tranche of Army redundancies. This forms part of the plan to reduce the Army from 102,000 to 82,000 regulars and to plug the gap with 30,000 reservists. John Baron MP and others have continually questioned the wisdom of further cuts to the Armed Forces, at a time of growing uncertainty globally.

John asked,

“The plan to replace 20,000 regulars with 30,000 reservists is beset with problems, including over £50m wasted on a botched IT system, missed recruitment targets, cancelled Reserve courses and widening capability gaps. The previous Secretary of State confirmed recently that the original plan was to hold the regulars until the Reservists were able to take their place. When and why did this plan change?”

In response the Secretary of State contested that the plan was not to replace lost regulars with reservists, and made clear that the change in plan was due to budgetary constraints.

John said afterwards,

“Budgetary constraints have existed since 2010, so we have had no explanation as to why the plan changed. Meanwhile, the cost-effectiveness and feasibility of the Army Reserve plan grows ever more uncertain. Trying to get our defence on the cheap is not sound policy, particularly at a time of global instability.”