Territorial Army (Hansard, 22 February 1999)

§ 33. Mr. Waterson
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of morale in the Territorial Army. [70524]
28W

§ Mr. Doug Henderson
I am encouraged by indications that morale is maintained in the TA, and that it continues to attract new volunteers. We expect that the restructuring of the Territorial Army once implemented will, ensure that the TA is both more relevant and usable and, as a result, more satisfying to those who join.

§ Mr. Hoyle
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the net effect of the review of the Territorial Army, in terms of number of units per head of the population, in(a) North West England and (b) North Wales. [69318]

§ Mr. Doug Henderson
North Wales does not contain any TA units of Regiment or Battalion size. There are a number of sub-units in Northern Wales, but as sub-units vary considerably in size, a comparison between North Wales and the North West based on numbers of sub-units would not be meaningful. However, a comparison between the two regions based on numbers of TA members shows the net effect of the restructuring of the Territorial Army on each region.
Before the review of the Territorial Army, the ratio of members of the TA to population in the North West was 1:1,023. After the review, the ratio was 1:1,366, or a net increase in the ratio of 36 per cent.
Before the review of the Territorial Army, the ratio of members of the TA to population in North Wales was 1:1,050. After the review, the ratio was 1:1,832, or a net increase in the ratio of 74 per cent.

§ Mr. Hoyle
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) on what date Land Command submitted to Ministers the(a) first, (b) second and (c) final set of proposals for reorganisation of the Territorial Army; [69316]
(2) on what date Land Command made the recommendation to (a) transfer HQ 101 Battalion REME to Queensferry and (b) close HQ 101 Battalion REME in Chorley. [69343]

§ Mr. Doug Henderson
Land Command's recommendations for the future structure of the Territorial Army were put to Ministers on 2 November 1998.