Royal Naval Reserve (Hansard, 2 December 1991)

§ Mr. Home Robertson
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will set out the necessary technical qualifications of Royal Navy reservists serving in(a) the port divers branch and (b) the degaussing branch; in what other branches of the Royal Naval Reserve they will be able to use those qualifications; and whether those other branches will be funded to provide for higher strengths than at present.

§ Mr. Archie Hamilton
My noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Armed Forces will write to the hon. Member.

§ Mr. Home Robertson
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Royal Naval Reserve personnel he estimates will have to leave the Royal Naval Reserve as a result of the disbandment of 11 branches and four communications training centres.

§ Mr. Archie Hamilton
We expect the establishment of the Royal Naval Reserve to reduce by some 1,200. The number of personnel who have to leave will depend on the level of natural turnover.

§ Mr. Home Robertson
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are the principal peacetime and wartime roles of(a) the port divers and (b) the degaussing branches of the Royal Naval Reserve; who will carry out these roles when the branches are disbanded; and what considerations have led to the proposed closure of these branches.

§ Mr. Archie Hamilton
The principal peacetime role of the port divers and degaussers is to train in preparation for their war role, which includes underwater first aid ship repair and ship husbandry and the monitoring and reduction of surface ships magnetic signatures. Longer warning times and the changing international situation mean that adequate arrangements can be made for these tasks during the longer period of force regeneration.