Peacekeeping Duties (Hansard, 6 March 2003)

§ Mr. Drew
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many British personnel are on peacekeeping duties, broken down by(a) regiment and (b) location. [101170]

§ Mr. Ingram
There are presently some 3,400 British personnel deployed on peacekeeping operations throughout the world; some 500 are deployed to six UN operations, around 2,600 are deployed in support of NATO operations in the Balkans, and approximately 300 are deployed to Kabul as part of the International Security and Assistance Force(ISAF).
The core of the United Kingdom's contribution to the UN Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) is provided by elements from 47th Regiment Royal Artillery. The United Kingdom's commitment to the Balkans includes a Battalion in Bosnia and Herzegovina, currently 1st Battalion The Royal Scots, and a Battalion in Kosovo, currently 1st Battalion The Staffordshire Regiment. The 21st Engineer Regiment provides a Squadron in Bosnia and 26th Engineer Regiment provides a Squadron in Kosovo. In Afghanistan, a Company from 2nd Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment will shortly provide the key United Kingdom contribution to ISAF.
The bulk of Service personnel on peacekeeping duties are not deployed as part of formed regiments. They fulfil a variety of command, specialised and supporting roles, such as engineering, communications and logistics for formed national and multi-national headquarters.

§ Mr. Drew
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to change the number of personnel on peacekeeping operations in(a) Bosnia, (b) Kosovo, (c) Sierra Leone and (d) Afghanistan. [101171]

§ Mr. Ingram
In Bosnia and Kosovo we intend to reduce by the spring to the levels my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence announced in September last year. In keeping with the reductions in SFOR (Bosnia) and KFOR (Kosovo) planned as part of NATO's review of peacekeeping operations, the United Kingdom is reducing its forces from some 4,350 troops in September last year to some 2,500 by the spring of this—some 1,500 in Bosnia and 900 in Kosovo.
The UK provides 21 UK personnel to the UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL), which is responsible for providing assistance to the Government of Sierra Leone in order to maintain law, order, peace and stability throughout the country. There are currently around 14,000 troops in UNAMSIL, which is expected to draw down by mid-2004.
There are currently no plans to reduce the number of personnel in Afghanistan.