§ Lord BachMy honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence, Mr Ivor Caplin, has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
I have signed a further call-out order for Reserve Forces for operations in Afghanistan. The new order will enable Reservists to continue to be called out into service to support the stabilisation and reconstruction operations. It is effective until 30 September 2005. Over 70 Reservists were called out under the order made last year. Reservists currently provide about 12 per cent of 4WS the total UK force in Afghanistan. We continue to be most grateful for their continuing commitment and the invaluable contribution they make to the work that UK forces are undertaking in Afghanistan.