§ Mr. BrazierTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent assessment his Department has made of the readiness state and mobilisation arrangements for squadrons of(a) the Royal Yeomanry and (b) the Queen's Own Yeomanry; what trials were involved in such assessments; what visits to the unit were made by ministers or senior officers; and what consultation took place with the unit. [45847]
§ Dr. Reid[holding answer 18 June 1998]: These units are assessed annually on a number of factors including their manning levels, sustainability and equipment holdings, as well as their collective performance on exercises. The Royal Yeomanry's first assessment, conducted nine months after becoming operational in April 1997, showed the unit as not yet achieving required readiness levels at that time. The Queen's Own Yeomanry's last assessment, during 1997, reported that it was close to or at the required level for all factors against which it was assessed.
The Commander in Chief Headquarters Land Command visited the Royal Yeomanry in November 1997, and the Deputy Commander in Chief Headquarters Land Command visited the Queen's Own Yeomanry in May 1997, during which they discussed a number of issues concerning the units.