§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what measures he is taking to improve the anticipated shortfall of personnel in the Army by 2005; what implications these will have on readiness; and if he will make a statement. [108035]
§ Mr. SpellarThe Army is currently forecasting a return to a state of full manning by around April 2005. The current manning deficit is being tackled by a series of recruiting and retention-positive measures. These include significant improvements which have been made to the operational welfare package, a reduction in force deployments to both Bosnia and Kosovo, and the Learning Forces initiative. Welcome progress has also been made by the Services Families Task Force, which is addressing a variety of issues relating to military service that are of concern to Service personnel.