§ Mr. GrieveTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the size of the Territorial Army. [145900]
§ Dr. MoonieThe latest available official figures give the strength of the Territorial Army as 41,671.
§ Mr. GrieveTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement about trends in(a) Territorial Army centre closures since 1992 and (b) proposed closures of Territorial Army centres in 2000–01. [145904]
§ Dr. MoonieBetween 1992 and the Strategic Defence Review (SDR), the number of Territorial Army Centres (TAC) remained almost constant, with any closures part of routine management of the Volunteer Estate. SDR resulted in a fundamental reorganisation, reduction and in some cases redeployment of the Territorial Army. Prior to SDR, there were 455 TACs. 342 have been retained for 147W use by the TA, and 27 to accommodate cadet forces units. Of the 86 that will be disposed of, 14 of these have already been sold and a further 42 were scheduled for disposal in financial year 2000–01. It is now unlikely that all these will be sold in the current financial year.