§ 20. Dr. PalmerTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the extent to which British commitments are stretching Army capacity. [66979]
§ Mr. IngramWe do not believe that the armed forces are overstretched, but they are very busy. The announcement made to the House by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence on 20 June about the contribution of British forces in operations in Afghanistan demonstrates our commitment to withdraw service personnel from operations at the earliest possible opportunity, in order to ease the demands placed on them.
Currently around 25 per cent. of the Army is committed to operations compared to 44 per cent. at the height of the campaign in Kosovo. The latest assessment of the average unit tour interval is around 24 months, which is consistent with the Strategic Defence Review target.