§ Mr. SwayneTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many appeals have been made by employers against compulsory call-out notices to their employees in each of the last five years; and how many of those appeals were allowed in each year. [R] [147134]
§ Mr. CaplinAs at 12 January 2004 only 41 employers had lodged an appeal against the compulsory call-out of their employees under the appeals procedure set out in Part IX of the Reserve Forces Act 1996. Of these, seven were awarded to the Service authority, one was awarded to the employer, one remained outstanding and 32 were withdrawn before going to appeal. All of these appeals were lodged in 2003.
§ Mr. SwayneTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many compulsory call-out notices were issued to serving members of the Territorial Army in 2003; and how many of the recipients were actually mobilised. [R] [147135]
§ Mr. CaplinDuring 2003 9,765 compulsory call-out notices were issued to serving members of the Territorial Army. Of these, 6,681 were subsequently mobilised.
§ Mr. SwayneTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many individuals have been mobilised after receiving a compulsory call-out notice more than once in the last three years. [R] [147262]
§ Mr. CaplinThe information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
§ Mr. SwayneTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the Territorial Army mobilised after receiving a compulsory call-out notice have served for(a) up to four months, (b) four to six months, (c) six months to one year and (d) over one year in the last three years. [R] [147263]
§ Mr. CaplinThe number of Territorial Army personnel who have been mobilised, during the period 1 January 2001 to 31 December 2003, after receiving a compulsory call-out notice is shown according to length of service in the table.
821W
Number Up to four months 3,259 Four to six months 1,573 Six months to one year 3,137 Over one year 43
§ Mr. SwayneTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his written statement of 7 January 2004,Official Report, column 9–10WS, on reserve forces, what his policy is in respect of (a) full-time regular Service and (b) compulsory call-out when making provision for medium-sized operations of low intensity. [R] [147471]
§ Mr. CaplinThe reserve forces are an integral part of the United Kingdom's military capability for a wide variety of different types of operations. Many factors will determine the number of reservists required to support a particular operation and whether it is necessary to mobilise reservists compulsorily. These factors include: the size of the operation; other concurrent operations; the time available to set up and train a force before deployment; the expected length of a particular operation; the individual skills and trades required; and the pool of people available with the requisite qualifications.
§ Mr. SoamesTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many(a) Territorial Army, (b) Royal Naval Reserve and (c) RAF Reserve personnel remain available for mobilisation. [147725]
§ Mr. Caplin[holding answer 13 January 2004]: As at 1 December 2003, the following Volunteer Reserve personnel were available for mobilisation:
Territorial Army: 28,400Royal Navy Reserve: 2,670Royal Marines Reserve: 750Royal Auxiliary Air Force: 1,300.These figures include untrained strengths (while untrained, they have a call-out liability), but exclude those who are currently mobilised, those serving on Full Time Reserve Service, Additional Duties Commitment and members of the Officer Training Corps.
§ Mr. SwayneTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much has been paid in(a) reservist standard award and (b) reservist hardship award to mobilised reservists in each of the last five years; and how many individuals were involved in each case. [R] [147260]
§ Mr. CaplinThe information requested is not centrally held and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
§ Mr. SwayneTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what changes to reservist standard award are planned; and when they will be implemented. [R] [147261]
§ Mr. CaplinThe Defence White Paper made clear that work is in hand to produce new regulations governing the award of both Reservist Standard Award and Reservists Hardship Award. The new regulations will take into account the lessons arising from the mobilisation for Iraq. It is too early to state what the finalised proposals might be. However, once the MOD has completed our deliberations we plan to publish a consultation document to seek the views of interested parties prior to the issue of the final regulations.