HL Deb 15 March 2001 vol 623 c104WA
Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Answer by Lord Burlison on 13 February (WA 29–30), whether they will confirm that no central record exists of overseas tours of Army personnel; if not, why not; and at what level are such records maintained. [HL1069]

Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean

Various categories of overseas tours are recorded on an individual's record of service, and these records are held centrally. However, searches can be made only on one category at a time and no single search would produce all the information relevant to the widest definition of "overseas tour". To put together such a record would, therefore, entail a disproportionate cost.

Monitoring deployments at unit level gives a clearer picture of the pattern of deployment and operational commitment within the Army. Some 22 per cent of the trained Army is currently committed to operations; this figure includes units preparing for, deployed on and recovering from operations. Within this, 15 per cent of the trained Army is currently deployed on operations.