§ Mr. SpellerTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the rate of recruitment into the Territorial Army, showing which areas and which arms show the most and which the least progress in recruiting.
§ Mr. NeubertOverall recruitment continues to show a satisfactory improvement with intakes during January and February showing increases, respectively, of 500 and 300 over that of August 1988. We continue to monitor the position most closely and to take stringent measures to build on this impetus including, of course, the Volunteer 291W Reserve Forces campaign. Although this campaign is aimed primarily at improving retention, we would expect to see some sort of spin-off in the area of recruitment. The generally improved position is largely reflected throughout all arms and all areas of the country.