HC Deb 17 September 2004 vol 424 cc1890-1W
Mr. Jim Cunningham

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many British troops are in(a) Iraq and (b) Afghanistan. [188488]

Mr. Ingram

[holding answer 15 September 2004]: As at 9 September 2004, there are about 8,000 British troops in Iraq and about 640 in Afghanistan.

Mr. Dodds

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which battalions of the Army are committed to Northern Ireland; where they are based; and what the average length of duty in Northern Ireland is of each battalion. [187420]

Mr. Ingram

The following resident infantry battalions are currently based in Northern Ireland on accompanied tours of roughly two years2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, Holywood 2nd Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment, Ballykelly 1st Battalion The King's Own Scottish Borderers, Omagh 2nd Battalion The Royal Green Jackets, Ballykinler

The following infantry battalions are currently committed to Northern Ireland on a six month unaccompanied tour of duty: 1st Battalion The King's Own Royal Border Regiment, Dungannon 1st Battalion The Royal Green Jackets, Bessbrook

In addition there are three home service battalions of The Royal Irish Regiment whose headquarters are at Holywood, Portadown and Omagh respectively.

Mr. Dodds

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many troops wile deployed in Northern Ireland in each year since 1997. [187421]

Mr. Ingram

The number of armed forces personnel (Army, Navy and RAF), under the command of the General Officer Commanding Northern Ireland (GOC NI), stationed in Northern Ireland in each year since 1997 are set out in tile following table.

As at 31 July Number of armed forces personnel
1997 16,566
1998 16,107
1999 14,778
2000 13,812
2001 13,763
2002 13,669
2003 13,571
2004 11,450

The GOC NI also has under his command troops that are rear based in Great Britain hat can be called forward to the Province as and when required. In addition other troops can be made available to the GOC NI from Land Command if required for example during the marching season.