The Earl of Mar and Kelllieasked Her Majesty's Government:
When the proposed civil defence organisation will commence; and in which locations it will operate. [HL4751]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Bach)As part of our work in the new chapter to the Strategic Defence Review, we published a discussion document on 12 June on theRole of the Reserves in Home Defence and Security. One of the proposals in that document was the creation of reaction forces formed from the volunteer reserves of each service. We have sought the views of the volunteer reserves, their employers and other interested parties on this and other proposals in the document by 13 September. We will adjust our proposals as necessary in the light of the comments we receive and then aim to have an initial capability as soon as possible thereafter. Our proposals are based upon the use of the Army regional brigade structure, allowing the reaction forces to operate throughout the country.