HC Deb 30 October 2003 vol 412 cc327-8W
Lady Hermon

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people have been recruited to the Territorial Army in Northern Ireland in each of the past five years; what steps he is taking to increase these figures; and if he will make a statement. [134827]

Mr. Caplin

The number of people recruited into the Territorial Army (TA) in Northern Ireland in each of the past five years are shown in the following table.

1 April to 31 March Officers Soldiers
1998–99 30 297
1999–2000 45 272
2000–01 33 279
2001–02 42 235
2002–03 39 218
2003–04 to date 24 153

TA recruiting is a continual process throughout the year and is generally conducted geographically by local TA centres. A local TA recruiting campaign has recently been run, supplementing the national radio, television and internet recruiting campaigns. This involved open days in the TA Centres following advertisements placed in the local press and on the radio. Considerable interest was generated from potential recruits, which included approximately 100 inquiries emanating from the North Down Constituency.