§ Mr. RedmondTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the purpose of the current advertising campaign on television for the Territorial Army; and what account the campaign has taken of the numbers of regular soldiers being made redundant.
§ Mr. HanleyThe Territorial Army requires about 20,000 new recruits annually. The recent television advertisements were part of the annual recruiting campaign.
Regular soldiers who are leaving the Army on redundancy terms are given information about the TA and receive an invitation to join. Many soldiers prefer, however, to settle into civilian life before considering such an option.