§ Lady Saltoun of Abernethyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether it has been decided to vaccinate members of the Armed Forces against anthrax and to put the territorial reserves on standby; if so, when the decisions were made; and why. [HL5552]
§ Lord BachWith respect to immunisation against anthrax, I refer the noble Lady to the Answer I gave on 13 June 2002 (WA 47) to the noble Lord, Lord Christopher.
Reservists may only be called out to support military operations under the authority of a call out order made under the Reserve Forces Act 1996. At present there are four orders in being to authorise the use of reservists for the following operations: Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of Congo; the former Yugoslavia; enforcement of the "no-fly zones" in the region of Iraq; and worldwide operations in support of the war against terrorism. The making of each order was reported to both Houses in accordance with the provisions of the 1996 Act. No reservists are on standby for any other operations.