HC Deb 28 October 1997 vol 299 cc793-4W
Ms Shipley

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the total cost per year to his Department of each member of(a) the Territorial Army and (b)the volunteer reserves. [13092]

Dr. Reid

The information requested is set out in the table rounded to the nearest £100. The figures are calculated from the overall cost of the reserve force concerned for the financial year 1996–97 and its average membership for that year. They exclude provision for items whose costs cannot be identified separately from those incurred for the regular services.

£
Territorial Army 6,100
Royal Naval Reserve 6,700
Royal Marines Reserve 7,300
Royal Auxiliary Air Force1 7,400
1Figures relate to those personnel who could be called out to perform an operational role: they do not include RAF volunteer reserve (civilian component), RAF volunteer reserve (training) or RAF volunteer reserve (university air squadrons).

Mr. Hancock

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what is the current cost of the reserve forces, by type. [11023]

Dr. Reid

[pursuant to his reply, 29 July 1997, c. 183]: I regret that my previous answer was incorrect because further information has been brought to light. The revised information for financial year 1996–97 is in the table. These figures exclude provision for those items whose costs cannot be identified separately from those incurred for the regular forces.

£ million
Royal Fleet Reserve 0.04
Royal Naval Reserve 17.5
Royal Marines Reserve 6.6
Territorial Army Commando Units 1.8
Army Reserve 0.6
Territorial Army 341.3
Royal Air Force Reserve 0.4
Royal Auxiliary Air Force 9.5

Mr. Keith Simpson

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much money is allocated to maintaining the Territorial Army in the current financial year; what is this sum as a percentage of the defence budget; and what the allocation will be in (a) cash and (b) as a percentage of the defence budget in the next three financial years. [8183]

Dr. Reid

[pursuant to his reply, 16 July 1997, c. 234]: I regret that my previous answer was incorrect because further information on the costs of the Territorial Army has been brought to light. When this additional expenditure is taken into account it shows that the overall cost of the Territorial Army for financial year 1997–98 now stands at some £340.4 million (not £334 million) which still represents about 1.6 per cent. of the defence budget. This figure excludes provision for those items whose costs cannot be identified separately from those incurred for the regular Army.

The allocation of funds for the Territorial Army in the next three financial years will be determined as part of the MOD's long term costing, which is the process by which the Department recosts and adjusts its internal plans. The Department's internal plans represent projections and assumptions, which inform advice to Ministers on the affordability of particular elements of the defence programme, and it has been the policy of successive Governments not to publish detailed information arising from this. Accordingly, I am withholding the information requested in the second part of the question which constitutes internal discussion and advice, under exemption 2 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.