§ Mr. KeyTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are the establishment targets for(a) the High Readiness Reserve and (b) the Sponsored Reserve; and if he will make a statement. [39635]
§ Dr. ReidSince the Reserve Forces Act 1996, which introduced the concepts of High Readiness and Sponsored Reserves, came into force on 1 April last year, the Services have been developing these concepts. Although some initial estimates have been produced, there is at present no formal establishment target for High Readiness Reservists. The use of Sponsored Reservists will depend on a detailed assessment of the costs and operational risk in each particular case, and the proposals that we receive134W from Industry for meeting our requirements. It would, therefore, not be appropriate for us to set overall establishment targets for Sponsored Reservists.
§ Mr. KeyTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list by(a) unit, (b) strength and (c) purpose, deployments of Territorial Army units in 1997 in military aid to the civil community (MACC) tasks, stating in each case the costs, if any, to the civil authorities. [39626]
§ Dr. ReidI have placed a list of incidences of military aid to the civil community undertaken by Territorial Army units during 1997, together with the costs charged to local authorities (note 1) or other clients (note 2) in the Library of the House.