§ 1. Sir T. Beamishasked the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the Army General Reserve have undergone military training since their discharge; and what proportion of the Reserve he classifies as suitable for a reinforcement rôle in the event of a sudden emergency without any further training.
§ Mr. BoydenMembers of the Army General Reserve have no training liability. The cost of finding out how many members of the A.G.R. have undertaken voluntary training would not be justified.
The Reserve contains enough suitable men to meet our requirements.
§ 2. Sir T. Beamishasked the Secretary of State for Defence what is the strength of the Army General Reserve at the latest available date; in which years its members completed their periods of national service; and how many men were discharged in each of those years.
§ Mr. BoydenThe strength of the Army General Reserve on 31st January, 1969 was 168,957.
Its members completed their periods of National Service between 1963 and 1968 and the approximate annual rate of discharge was:
1963 60,000 1964 49,000 1965 38,000 1966 20,000 1967 1,500 1968 500