§ Mr. SwayneTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the changes he is making to the advertising account for the Territorial Army. [R] [17079]
§ Dr. MoonieFollowing a restructuring of the external marketing operations of the Army Training and Recruiting Agency's recruiting division, the decision has been taken to seek a re-tender for the national advertising contract for both the Territorial and the Regular Armies. The requirement will be re-tendered over the next few weeks and it is hoped to identify the successful tenderer in mid-December.
§ Mr. SwayneTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 7 November 2001,Official Report, column 250W, on the Territorial Army, if he will make a statement about the reasons for which those members of the Territorial Army unfit for role have been so categorised. [14377]
§ Dr. MoonieThe Ministry of Defence does not specifically categorise members of the Territorial Army (TA) as unfit for role.
As I explained in my answer to the hon. Member on 7 November 2001, Official Report, column 250W, members of the TA are considered fit for role when they have completed two phases of training which will vary in length depending on an individual's role and trade, given that the fit for role numbers are based on 100 per cent. of deployable establishments, the majority of those who have not yet achieved fit for role status are undergoing their required training.
The Strategic Defence Review concluded that, in the light of the likely warning time for any large deployment, just over half the TA strength should be fit for role at any
376W
Exercise name Dates Location Reason for cancellation (a) (b) (c) (d) Tartan Eagle January-September 2000 UK/USA Americans reduced annual commitment to one reciprocal exercise a year. Two exercises, one in the UK and one in the USA, were cancelled as a result. Aswex 00 10–21 January 2000 South western approaches Lack of funding Winter Deployment 00 January-March 2000 Norway Lack of funding Hairspring 00 March 2000 Norway Lack of funding JTFEX 1/00 3–15 April 2000 USA UK assets withdrawn and re-programmed to another exercise Dynamic Mix 00 20 May-10 June 2000 Med Operational commitments (Sierra Leone) Sharem 133 11–18 June 2000 Med Operational commitments (Sierra Leone) Entgrou 2/00 25 September-5 October 2000 France UK assets withdrawn and re-programmed to another exercise Unified Spirit 00 5–27 October 2000 USA Operational commitments (Sierra Leone) Niriis 00 20–30 November 2000 Greece UK assets withdrawn and re-programmed to another exercise Joint Winter 01 5–16 March 2001 Norway Foot and mouth disease restrictions Hairspring 01 5–18 March 2001 Norway Foot and mouth disease restrictions Tradewinds 01 1 April-31 May 2001 Caribbean Lack of funding Rolling Deep 01 8–21 May 2001 UK Foot and mouth disease restrictions Dynamic Mix 00 20 May-10 June 2000 Med Operational commitments (Sierra Leone) Burmese Chase 01 June-July 2001 USA RAF Air Transport unavailable due to other operational and exercise tasking Final Nail July 2001 UK Foot and mouth disease restrictions Joint Spirit 1–30 September 2001 USA Events of September 11th Tartan Eagle September 2001 USA Operational commitments (Sierra Leone) Sea Dagger September 2001 UAE Events of September 11th Ursa Minor 01 October 2001 Bulgaria RAF Air Transport unavailable due to other other operational and exercise tasking one time and as I explained in my answer on 26 October 2001, Official Report, columns 403–04W, to the hon. Member for Hereford (Mr. Keetch) the TA is very close to meeting that requirement.
Unlike the Regular Army, the TA holds its untrained soldier strength against its deployable establishment and in order to replace the TA wastage of 25–30 per cent. per year, equivalent numbers of personnel must be recruited and trained to the required standard.