§ Mr. Croninasked the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for reducing overstretch in the infantry.
§ Mr. MulleyAs a first step, I have decided to reverse the decision taken in the defence review and announced in the Statement on the Defence Estimates 1975 (Cmnd. 5976) to disband No. 41 Commando Royal Marines. The Commando will now be available as part of the United Kingdom's contribution to NATO. It will be stationed in the United Kingdom. To help meet the Supreme Allied Commander, Europe's call for improved readiness of NATO forces it will be used in the infantry rôle and thus help to reduce the amount of service required
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Sectoral Schemes (to 31st May 1977) £ million Accelerated Projects Scheme £ million Selective Investment Scheme (to 31st May 1977) £ million Total for each Region £ million Scotland … 7.6 2.2 — 9.8 Wales … 0.6 2.3 — 2.9 Northern … 5.9 3.0 1.4 10.3 Yorkshire and Humberside … 18.4 21.8 0.2 40.4 NorthWest … 3.3 8.3 — 11.6 East Midlands … 5.1 1.4 — 6.5 West Midlands … 13.7 8.5 0.6 22.8 SouthWest … 4.1 2.9 — 7.0 Eastern … 4.7 17.0 0.4 22.1 London and South East … 3.5 2.5 — 6.0 Other* … — 14.1 — 14.1 TOTAL … 66.9 84.0 2.6 153.5 * Projects spread over more than one region. from units in BAOR for temporary duty in Northern Ireland. I am considering other ways of alleviating the burden on the Army in general, and BAOR in particular, resulting from their continuing commitments in Northern Ireland and elsewhere, to the extent that resources at present allow.