§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans there are for the inclusion of the Territorial Army in the operations against Afghanistan; and(a) how many will be deployed and (b) how they will be deployed. [13128]
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§ Mr. IngramThere are no plans to include formed units of the Territorial Army in the operations in Afghanistan. However, a call-out order has been made under section 54 of the Reserve Forces Act 1996 to permit up to 150 individual reservists from all three services to be called out for service in support of the current operation. They are needed to augment headquarters, and provide operational support to the Royal Air Force. Most will be based in the UK. Augmentation of this nature is a routine task for the reserves.
§ Llew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans his Department has to disarm unexploded cluster bomblets used by Allied coalition forces in the conflict in Afghanistan. [14266]
§ Mr. IngramThe Prime Minister has made it clear that the United Kingdom will not turn her back on Afghanistan and that any political settlement will be supported and sustained through rehabilitation and reconstruction, of which the clearance of unexploded ordnance may form a part.