Territorial Army (Hansard, 20 November 1984)

§ Mr. Terlezki
asked the Secretary of State for Defence to what he attributes the high turnover of men in the Territorial Army; and what are the implications of this for the effectiveness of the force.

§ Mr. Stanley
High turnover of personnel tends to be a feature of any wholly volunteer military force. The Territorial Army is no exception. The main reasons why people leave are conflicting social, domestic or employment pressures. The high turnover does not prevent the Territorial Army from being able to carry out its operational role effectively, as was recently demonstrated in Exercise Lionheart. None the less, we are currently examining the matter to see if there are any steps we can take to alleviate the problem.

§ Mr. Terlezki
asked the Secretary of State for Defence what are the implications for defence policy of the fact that only two thirds of the Territorial Army have completed minimum training at any point in time.

§ Mr. Stanley
At any given time more than 70 per cent. of the Territorial Army's strength has completed basic training. On mobilisation there are plans to meet any shortfall in the trained strength of the Territorial Army with Regular Army reservists. There are therefore no significant implications for our defence plans.

§ Mr. Terlezki
asked the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of the membership of the Territorial Army is composed of former regular soldiers; and whether he has any plans for measures to increase this figure.

§ Mr. Stanley
As at the end of October 1984 the proportion of Territorial Army members with former regular service was 21.2 per cent. We already encourage ex-regulars to join the Territorial Army and are currently giving further consideration to this.

§ Mr. Terlezki
asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether he will consider introducing measures to make it more advantageous to employers to give leave to employees for Territorial Army summer camps and other training sessions.

§ Mr. Stanley
We are already considering measures to improve employer support for the volunteer forces and are setting up a national committee on the lines of those which work well in the USA and Australia, which will be reflected at a local level throughout the United Kingdom. This will act as a focal point and serve to emphasise that the qualities of leadership, self-discipline and initiative developed by Territorial Army training are as important to the community and beneficial to the employer as they are to the armed forces.