§ 11. Mr. Keith Simpson (Mid-Norfolk)What assessment he has made of the operational effectiveness of the Army if the Territorial Army's manpower were reduced to 40,000 personnel.[36267]
§ The Minister for the Armed Forces (Dr. John Reid)The strategic defence review is, as the hon. Gentleman knows, looking at a range of options to improve the operational effectiveness of the Army, covering both the regular and reserve forces. No decisions have yet been taken.
§ Mr. SimpsonI am sure that the Ministers and hon. Members on both sides of the House will agree that the role of the Territorial Army volunteer reserves is of fundamental importance not only for its link with society, but for the active support that it gives to the regular Army. Discussions are taking place within the Ministry of Defence on savings from the Territorial Army through manpower cuts because the regular Army is under such pressure. Does the Minister accept that, if the formed infantry and armoured regiments of the Territorial Army are reduced, perhaps to the level of merely a pool of 15 infantry and armour, recruitment will be drastically affected, and the effectiveness of our regular Army will suffer as a consequence?
§ Dr. ReidI fully recognise not only the operational capability that the TA gives the British armed forces, but the regeneration, the assistance of cadets and the military-civil link.
If the hon. Gentleman starts from the standpoint that savings are to be made and that we must therefore make cuts, he repeats a mindset that is more indicative of the previous Government than of this one. We do not start with a target for cuts nor with a number and then justify it. We start with an analysis of the security and strategic environment in which we find ourselves and from that we derive our planning assumptions, from which we derive force configurations, including those for the Territorial Army.
§ Ms Christine Russell (City of Chester)Does the Minister agree that, in the light of changed world circumstances, it is right to re-examine the role of the TA? As I have a large TA presence in my constituency, I should like the Minister to at least consider giving the TA a more heavyweight role.
§ Dr. ReidI thank my hon. Friend for her helpful intervention. She is absolutely right. We should consider giving the Territorial Army a more useable, more relevant and, as she says, a more heavyweight role in that context. She is also right to say that the starting point should be the shaping of force structures according to our defence needs. She starts from the point of view of a strategic analysis, and that starting point is shared by all Labour Members and, I hope, many Opposition Members, but apparently not universally.
§ Madam SpeakerOrder. I am sorry: time is up. Time waits for no man or woman.