§ Mr. McNamaraasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will give details of the military equipment of the Ulster Defence Regiment, and its Reserve, listing separately firearms and the type of firearms, motor vehicles, armoured vehicles and type and number of radio, radar and electronics surveillance equipment with which the regiment is equipped today and in each year since its inception.
§ Mr. LeeThe information is not maintained in the foam requested. However, the current establishment of weapons and vehicles for the Ulster Defence Regiment is as follows:
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Number .22 Rifles 222 9mm Pistol 642 9mm SMG 110 7.62mm SLR 8,409
Number GPMG/LMG 184 Landrovers 249 Recruiting Trailer 1 Trailers 61 4 Ton Trucks 10 Other vehicles 228 Other equipment can be issued when commitments or circumstances dictate. The radio allocation varies from week to week, dependent upon the tasks and commitments of each battalion.
§ Mr. McNamaraasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will state the percentages of Catholics and Protestants who have served in the Ulster Defence Regiment for each year since the regiment's inception.
§ Mr. LeeI refer the hon. Member to my answer to his question of 13 March this year, at column 129. The position has not changed since then. Information for earlier years is not available.
§ Mr. McNamaraasked the Secretary of State for Defence how many regular officers are currently attached to the Ulster Defence Regiment.
§ Mr. McNamaraasked the Secretary of State for Defence how many regular soldiers are currently attached to the Ulster Defence Regiment.
§ Mr. McNamaraasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement concerning the current morale of the Ulster Defence Regiment.
§ Mr. McNamaraasked the Secretary of State for Defence whether he has any plans to change the role of the Ulster Defence Regiment.
§ Mr. LeeNo. The Ulster Defence Regiment will continue to play a full part in the Army's overall effort in support of the RUC in Northern Ireland.
§ Mr. McNamaraasked the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the Ulster Defence
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Financial year Wages/salaries £ million
Construction/buildings £ million
Equipment £ million
Support costs £million
Total £ million
1971–72 0.9 — — 0.1 1.0 1972–73 2.3 2.5 — 0.3 5.1 1973–74 6.0 1.4 0.2 0.4 8.0 1974–75 6.4 1.4 0.6 0.3 8.7 1975–76 6.88 — 0.43 0.42 7.73 1976–77 10.63 0.21 0.31 0.58 11.73 1977–78 13.01 0.42 0.92 0.78 15.13 1978–79 15.07 0.31 0.88 0.85 17.11 1979–80 20.04 0.05 1.03 1.12 22.24 1980–81 24.77 — 1.10 1.26 27.13 1981–82 33.2 — 0.9 1.2 35.3 1982–83 33.1 — 1.10 1.7 35.9 1983–84 36.1 — 1.2 1.8 39.1 Regiment have been killed or maimed this year whilst carrying out their duties; how many were off duty; and how many were full-time and part-time, respectively.
§ Mr. LeeUp to 30 November, 10 soldiers have been killed, of whom two were on duty and eight were off duty, and one was full-time and nine part-time. Nine soldiers have been injured, of whom four were on duty and five were off duty, and three were full-time and six were part-time.
§ Mr. McNamaraasked the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the Ulster Defence Regiment, and its Reserve, since its inception have been found to be members of illegal paramilitary organisations or, separately, legal paramilitary organisations such as the Ulster Defence Association or the Third Force.
§ Mr. LeeThe information is not maintained in the form requested, but during the last five years — the only period for which information is available—there are no records of serving members of the UDR being convicted of membership of any organisation proscribed under the Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Act 1978.
§ Mr. McNamaraasked the Secretary of State for Defence what is the current policy concerning the possession of firearms at their domiciles by members of the Ulster Defence Regiment and its Reserve.
§ Mr. LeeUDR personnel who are under threat can be issued with a personal protection weapon on the authority of the commander UDR. All applications for PPWs are subject to rigorous scrutiny. If the UDR member issued with a PPW leaves Northern Ireland or is absent from home for over 24 hours the weapon has to be returned. In addition, UDR personnel may apply to the RUC for a private firearms certificate in the same way as any other resident of Northern Ireland.
§ Mr. McNamaraasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will give details of the costs of the Ulster Defence Regiment, and its Reserve, divided between wages and salaries, other personnel costs, costs of construction and buildings, investment in military equipment and other costs for each year since the regiment's inception.
§ Mr. LeeThe information is as follows:
415WThe above figures are those which appeared in the Estimates for each financial year. Figures for 1984–85 are not yet available, and those prior to 1971–72 were not separately identified.
§ Mr. McNamaraasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement concerning current policy and practice of deployment of the Ulster Defence Regiment, and its Reserve, with particular reference to the areas and circumstances in which it is, and is not, deployed.
§ Mr. LeeThe UDR, both permanent cadre and part time, are deployed in support of the RUC across almost all areas of Northern Ireland, although they are not used on crowd control or riot duties in cities.
§ Mr. McNamaraasked the Secretary of State for Defence how many persons have been killed by the Ulster Defence Regiment operatives on duty in Northern Ireland to date; how many of those fatalities were of civilians unconnected with terrorist organisations; and how many victims there were for whom no mandate of arrest existed.
§ Mr. LeeSince the formation of the regiment, six civilians have died as a result of action by members of the UDR in the course of their duty. It is not possible to say for certain how many of these were or were not connected with terrorist organisations.
§ Mr. McNamaraasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will give details of the manpower strength
(Figures as at 31 December) 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 Lieutenant Colonel 3 2 1 1 3 3 4 3 2 4 Major 78 82 83 83 85 89 87 88 86 77 Captain 123 144 148 153 142 130 126 125 112 114 Lieutenant 72 101 107 89 89 97 123 113 100 96 2nd Lieutenant 124 70 59 64 86 74 44 43 32 37 Warrant Officer 1 1 2 2 1 1 2 — — — — Warrant Officer 2 113 112 114 114 132 133 134 138 139 138 Staff Sergeant 155 178 185 193 187 168 182 172 162 170 Sergeant 251 273 251 260 321 349 358 345 336 336 Corporal 753 761 733 698 787 766 744 707 692 655 Lance Corporal 867 879 870 887 924 939 916 868 829 795 Private 4,652 4,586 4,441 4,585 4,274 3,980 4,001 4,072 3,851 3,795 Female other ranks 204 603 622 684 730 695 712 676 685 712 Total 7,396 7,793 7,616 7,812 7,761 7,425 7,431 7,350 7,026 6,929 The figures for other ranks do not include females, which are shown separately.
§ Mr. McNamaraasked the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the Ulster Defence Regiment, and its Reserve, were former members of the B Specials at the time of the regiment's inception; and what is the number today.
§ Mr. LeeThe information is not available in the form requested, though on grounds of age alone some two thirds of those now serving in the regiment would have been too young to serve in the B Specials.
§ Mr. McNamaraasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will give details of the number of operatives by rank, separately, of those who have joined the Ulster Defence Regiment and its Reserve, and of those who have resigned from the Ulster Defence Regiment, and its Reserve, in each year since its inception.
416Wof the Ulster Defence Regiment, and its Reserve, as between full-time and part-time, male and female operatives for each year since its inception.
§ Mr. LeeThese details are given in the following table:
(figures as at 31 March). Part time time Full time Male Female Male Female Total 1970 2,243 — 49 — 2,292 1971 3,880 — 234 — 4,114 1972 8,117 — 645 — 8,762 1973 7,444 — 833 — 8,277 1974 6,484 450 851 8 7,793 1975 5,635 592 1,414 13 7,654 1976 5,618 596 1,505 19 7,738 1977 5,332 619 1,662 31 7,644 1978 5,039 631 2,113 79 7,862 1979 4,556 598 2,346 123 7,623 1980 4,627 552 2,416 138 7,373 1981 4,159 582 2,580 158 7,479 1982 3,893 498 2,561 178 7,130 1983 3,798 544 2,601 192 7,135 1984 3,563 531 2,483 200 6,777
§ Mr. McNamaraasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will give details of the strength of the Ulster Defence Regiment, and its Reserve, by rank of serving operative for each year since the regiment's inception.
§ Mr. LeeThe information is not available in the form requested. However, figures for those who have joined the UDR and who have left the UDR, for reasons other than medical or disciplinary or on death, are as follows:
Intake Outflow Officers Other ranks Officers Other ranks 1975–76 59 1,634 38 1,214 1976–77 37 1,691 36 1,191 1977–78 55 1,931 54 1,301 1978–79 64 1,731 43 1,515 1979–80 34 1,331 40 1,236 1980–81 39 1,509 38 1,105 1981–82 26 1,211 51 1,207 1982–83 26 1,488 47 1,114 1983–84 36 966 30 1,076 Figures prior to 1975 are not available.
§ Mr. McNamaraasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will give details of the average time served 417W in the Ulster Defence Regiment, and its Reserve, by current operatives for each year since the regiment's inception for each group of (a) non-commissioned officers, (b) commissioned officers and (c) other ranks.
§ Mr. LeeMy noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Armed Forces will write to the hon. Member.
§ Mr. McNamaraasked the Secretary of State for Defence what is the procedure for vetting existing and new applicants for membership of the Ulster Defence Regiment, and its Reserve, to ensure that the membership of the regiment is consistent with standards of maximising its acceptability to both communities in Northern Ireland.
§ Mr. LeeIt is not our practice to disclose details of our procedures for vetting applicants to join the armed forces; however, I am satisfied that they provide thorough safeguards.
§ Mr. McNamaraasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will give details of the number of persons who have been asked to resign from the Ulster Defence Regiment, and its Reserve, in each year since its inception, indicating those who have been charged with crimes, giving separately details of persons who resigned as a result of being charged with scheduled offences.
§ Mr. McNamaraasked the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he is taking to ensure that the number of seconded regular officers and men in the Ulster Defence Regiment is sufficient to prevent sectarian activity by members of that regiment; and if he will indicate how he measures the efficacy of such steps.
§ Mr. LeeI am satisfied that the current balance between personnel from the regular Army and locally recruited personnel is the best one to ensure the effective operation of the regiment. There are no plans to change that balance, which has worked very well.
§ Mr. McNamaraasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the role of the Ulster Defence Regiment within Her Majesty's Government's overall policy of promoting a peaceful settlement to the troubles in Ulster.
§ Mr. LeeThe UDR makes an important contribution to the overall security forces effort. In many cases it has helped the RUC to bring terrorist criminals to justice, and this in turn has contributed to the Government's overall aim of promoting peace and political stability in Northern Ireland.
§ Mr. McNamaraasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the steps he is taking to ensure that the Ulster Defence Regiment enjoys the support of the majority of each sector of political opinion in Northern Ireland; and if he will indicate how he measures the efficacy of such steps in each sector.
§ Mr. LeeThe Government are always sensitive to the need to ensure that all elements of the security forces enjoy the support of all sections of the community. In training soldiers for the UDR the Army makes every effort to instil the highest possible standards of impartiality and politeness of their dealings with members of the public, irrespective of political or religious affiliation.
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§ Mr. McNamaraasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will give details of the number of members of the Ulster Defence Regiment, and its reserve, for each year since the regiment's inception, who have been charged with offences in criminal courts and who have been convicted of offences, giving details of custodial sentences imposed, and separately for charges and convictions concerning murder, attempted murder, membership of illegal organisations, conspiracy to cause explosions, withholding information concerning terrorist activity, possession of explosives, possession of explosives with intent to cause bodily harm, possession of firearms, possession of firearms with intent to cause bodily harm and other offences classified as schedule offences; and if he will specify whether those convicted have served their sentence either in any of the six counties of Northern Ireland or on mainland Britain.
§ Mr. LeeThe information is not available in the form requested. However, since the formation of the UDR the following numbers of serving soldiers have been convicted of offences:
- — eight with murder.
- — six with manslaughter.
- — eighty with assault.
The great majority of these offences were of a domestic nature. In addition, it is known that the following numbers of soldiers have been charged with serious offences since May 1983:
- — three with possession of firearms.
- — two with bomb hoaxes.
- — one with making petrol bombs.
- — one with arson.
- — one with drunk in charge of firearms.