§ 1. Jim Knight(Lab): (South Dorset)If he will make a statement on the implications of the defence White Paper for Army training requirements. [150153]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence (Mr. Ivor Caplin)Following the publication of the White Paper in December, detailed work is now under way to redesign the Army's training requirements. That will underpin the changes that will be needed in the future. Our current assumptions are that the Army will continue to train for war in all potential environments, and that training will be based on the existing facilities in the UK and overseas.
§ Jim KnightI congratulate the Minister and his colleagues on the White Paper, which I broadly welcome. Some of my constituents, however— 2 particularly those at the Bovington armour centre and the gunnery ranges in Lulworth—are concerned about it, given the conversion of one of the heavy armoured regiments to a light armoured regiment. Can the Minister give them any reassurance about Bovington's future?
§ Mr. CaplinMy hon. Friend is right—the White Paper does mention the conversion of two brigades to medium and light structures. Such changes, however, would not affect the total throughput of training in the armour centre in his constituency. Indeed, because of the unique range of facilities offered by the Bovington garrison, it will remain a centre of excellence for the delivery of training to our armed forces.
§ Dr. Julian Lewis(Con) (New Forest, East)The White Paper rightly emphasises the revolution in military affairs and the importance of technological advance rather than numbers, but does the Minister accept that when it comes to peacekeeping duties in particular, Army training must reflect the fact that large numbers of people need to be on the ground for such operations?
May I also take this opportunity to tell the Secretary of State—at the beginning of what may prove to be a deeply unpleasant and stressful week for him—that many Conservative Members, especially on the shadow Defence team, well remember the many kindnesses, courtesies and levels of consideration that he has shown us on a personal basis? We would like to put that on record.
§ Mr. CaplinI assure the hon. Gentleman that the facilities for training in the United Kingdom are there, and that we will continue to use them for the purposes of the main training environment that I have described.
§ Mr. James Gray(Con) (North Wiltshire)Am I not right to be concerned—and is my hon. Friend the Member for Salisbury (Mr. Key) not right to be concerned—about the availability of infantry training 3 facilities, particularly on and around Salisbury plain? If the infantry is to be downgraded, surely there will be much less of a requirement for infantry training in such areas as Warminster. Can the Minister give us an absolute assurance that infantry training in and around Wiltshire will not be downgraded?
§ Mr. CaplinI want to put the record straight—there is no downgrading of the infantry. Over the past five or six years we have invested heavily in our training facilities, some of which I have seen recently at Catterick, and we will continue to do so.