§ 8. Mr. James Gray (North Wiltshire)If he will make a statement on the role of the UK reserve forces. [49583]
§ The Minister for the Armed Forces (Dr. John Reid)Members of the reserve forces contribute a great deal to this country in many ways, but their principal role is to reinforce the armed forces on operations. They do that as individuals and as formed units, and they will continue to play a key role in the future.
§ Mr. GrayI am grateful to the Minister for that reply. Will he pay tribute to soldiers of the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment in my constituency, who are currently on duty in South Armagh, together with the 1st Battalion of the RGBW? Will he confirm that, under the strategic defence review and the 17,000 reduction in the Territorial Army, there will be no abolition of cap badges? If that is to be his pledge, will he confirm that he will not achieve it by reducing battalions such as the 2nd RGBW to a company strength?
§ Dr. ReidYes, I pay tribute to the hon. Gentleman's local TA regiment and to all members of the Territorial Army for the valuable service which they have given us in the past and which individuals are giving us at present 775 in Northern Ireland, Bosnia and elsewhere. Part of the principles agreed between the Territorial Auxiliary and Volunteer Reserve Association and the Regular Army is that the footprint throughout the country will have recourse, so far as is possible within the overall numbers, to a geographical spread of the TA and to the ethos and traditions of the individual units of the TA, which includes cap badges.
§ Mr. Ian Davidson (Glasgow, Pollok)Does the Minister agree that modernisation of the reserves is long overdue, and that one of the main reasons why it has not been undertaken before now is that the last Government—now the Opposition—made decisions on political rather than military grounds? Does the Minister also agree that an Opposition whose main contribution to today's exchanges has concerned cap badges display an appalling lack of knowledge and thoughtfulness?
§ Dr. ReidI certainly agree that the armed forces were let down by, among other things, the fact that financial—and often political—considerations were the starting point from which earlier Governments embarked on their so-called defence reviews. As most people know, those reviews were written on the back of an envelope, including a figure upfront that Ministers wanted to achieve.
Yes, we believe in the Territorial Army, to such an extent that we want to make it more relevant and usable in the future. Although I do not entirely agree with my hon. Friend's remarks about cap badges—I think that the ethos and tradition of the Territorial Army matter—the truth is that the world has changed, and that, if it is to prove as valuable to us in future as it has in the past, the Territorial Army must change with it.
§ Mr. John D. Taylor (Strangford)The largest regiment in the Army, which comprises mainly part-time volunteers, was not mentioned in a recent strategic defence review. When can we hear a statement on the future role and strength of the Royal Irish Regiment?
§ Dr. ReidConsideration of the Royal Irish Regiment was not omitted. Indeed, it is one of the few regiments that I visited personally, in order to have discussions with both full-timers and part-timers in Northern Ireland. During my visit, I had fruitful discussions with both officers and men.
Detailed announcements about all the reserve forces and the Territorial Army will be made in the autumn. However virtuous the case of any particular unit may be, I do not think that it would be fair or reasonable to start picking off individual units, or making decisions about them, before the review reaches its conclusions.