HC Deb 17 June 1986 vol 99 cc901-2
9. Mr. Proctor

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he has any plans to change the size of the British Army of the Rhine; and if he will make a statement.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Armed Forces (Mr. Roger Freeman)

On present plans we intend to increase the size of BAOR to 56,000 by the end of the decade, as announced in the 1985 Statement on the Defence Estimates.

Mr. Proctor

May I take this opportunity to congratulate my hon. Friend on his well-deserved appointment. Will he explain the reasoning behind the increase?

Mr. Freeman

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his kind remarks. For the past 30 years we have had a NATO commitment to maintain on the continent an army of 55,000. It makes operational sense to concentrate those forces in the Federal Republic of Germany to deter and repel an invasion by land.

Mr. Robert C. Brown

If BAOR's strength is to be increased, is it the Government's intention to proceed with the order for 78 new Challenger tanks? If so, will the hon. Gentleman give an unqualified assurance that Royal Ordnance factories will have to put forward tenders, as do their competitors, such as Vickers at the Scotswood works in Newcastle upon Tyne? Does the hon. Gentleman agree that it would be monstrous to award the contract to the ROF at Leeds without tender?

Mr. Freeman

That question is not one that I can answer specifically. I can give the hon. Gentleman the assurance that, in addition to increasing the strength of BAOR from 55,000 to 56,000, we are improving the equipment available to that Army, including the provision of six regiments of Challenger tanks.

Mr. Conway

I welcome my hon. Friend to the Dispatch Box. Will he assure the House that the less than 4 per cent. of the Army budget spent on the Territorial Army's battalions which are committed to NATO represents good value for money? Will he assure the House that the proposed expansion of the TA, which is much welcomed, is on course and will not he long in coming?

Mr. Freeman

I thank my hon. Friend for his kind remarks. I join him in paying tribute to the Territorial Army and to the important role that it has played, and will increasingly play, in the defence of Europe.