Territorial Army (Hansard, 7 December 1998)

§ 13. Mr. Woodward
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the impact of the Government's proposals in respect of the TA in(a) Oxfordshire and (b) the Witney constituency. [61351]

§ Mr. Doug Henderson
Following the recent restructuring exercise, Territorial Army units to be located in Oxford will be as follows: a surgical squadron of 20254W Field Hospital, the Home Counties Band and the Regimental Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron of the Radio Regiment. A squadron of Royal Signallers will also remain at Banbury. In the Witney constituency, 218 Field Squadron at Brize Norton will disband.

§ 16. Mr. Greenway
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the proposed timetable for relocation of the Army Medical Services TA and the Medical Field Training Centre to York and Strensall. [61356]

§ Mr. Doug Henderson
On current plans, the Headquarters Army Medical Services (TA) will move to Imphal Barracks, York in February 1999 and the Army Medical Services Field Training Centre will move to Strensall in April 1999.

§ 20. Mr. Boswell
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to reprovide training centres for cadets. [61360]

§ Mr. Doug Henderson
As we have already announced, any cadet unit that has facilities in the TA Centre that is closing as part of the restructuring of the TA will be reprovided with suitable accommodation and support. We have earmarked £12 million to achieve this. No TA centre which houses cadet units or cadet training facilities will be closed until alternative arrangements have been made for the cadets.

§ 23. Miss McIntosh
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has received on recruitment to the Territorial Army. [61363]

§ Mr. Doug Henderson
Before final decisions on the future structure and distribution of the Territorial Army were taken and announced, a number of hon. Members and members of the public wrote to me about the TA presence in their constituency, including the matter of recruitment to the TA. Furthermore, representations about recruitment to the TA were made during the consultative process with the TA and the Territorial Auxiliary and Volunteer Reserve Associations (TAVRAs).

§ Mr. Flight
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he is taking to address the needs of the Territorial Army following his recent announcement. [61355]

§ Mr. Doug Henderson
The needs of the Territorial Army are being addressed through its modernisation and reorganisation announced by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence on 17 November 1998. Details of the reorganisation can be found in the document "Modern Forces for a Modern World: A Territorial Army for the Future", copies of which have been placed in the Library.

§ Mr. Hoyle
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the costs of transferring the 101 REME (V) Battalion Headquarters from Chorley to Queensferry. [62611]

§ Mr. Doug Henderson
Land Command is still consulting with the Territorial Auxiliary and Reserve Associations over the transfer of 101 REME (Volunteer) Battalion from Chorley to Queensferry. No final costs are therefore available at this time, although they are not expected to be significant.
55W

§ Mr. Hoyle
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the costs of the operation of the 101 REME (V) Battalion Headquarters were in 1996, 1997 and 1998. [62610]

§ Mr. Doug Henderson
Operating costs for 101 REME (Volunteer) Battalion Headquarters for the last three years were as follows:

1996–97:723,000

1997–98:786,000

1998–99:818,000.

§ Mr. Hoyle
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if he will estimate the costs of the first year of operation of the 101 REME (V) Battalion Headquarters in Queensferry; [62609]
(2) if he will make a statement on the financial saving made from operating the Headquarters of the 101 REME (V) Battalion Headquarters in Queensferry instead of Chorley. [62613]

§ Mr. Doug Henderson
No detailed estimate can be made of the financial savings which will arise as a result of operating HQ 101 (Volunteer) Battalion REME from Queensferry instead of Chorley until full details of the support costs for the unit in its new location have been established. We expect that there will be savings because HQ 101 (Volunteer) Battalion REME will share the Queensferry TA Centre with other units instead of being the sole occupant of the Centre, as it was in Chorley.

§ Mr. Hoyle
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which body is responsible for ensuring the value for money of public funds spent on the Territorial Army. [62502]

§ Mr. Doug Henderson
Expenditure on the Territorial Army falls largely to the budget of the Commander in Chief Land Command, to whom the responsibility is delegated for ensuring value for money in meeting agreed tasks.