§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Bach)My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence (Mr Ivor Caplin) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
In my Statement to the House on 27 November 2003, (Official Report, col. 35WS), I announced that I had approved in principle, and subject to full trade union consultation, plans by the Army Training and Recruiting Agency (ATRA) to close the Army Technical Foundation College (ATFC) at Arborfield, and transfer students to, principally, the Army Foundation College (AFC) at Harrogate, where a technical training stream will be introduced. There will be other changes to the way in which junior recruits are trained within the ATRA, but these do not envisage closures of any establishments.
I can now confirm that the consultation exercise has been concluded and no serious objections have been raised to the proposal. I have therefore agreed that the closure plans may be implemented. Training at the college will therefore cease with effect from August this year, the last students being accepted at the beginning of this month (January), and the college will close in March 2005.
The principal aim of this proposal is to improve the quality and efficiency of training provided to junior entrants to the technical trades. It will not affect the Army's commitment or ability to accept suitable junior applicants on to appropriate courses at either the AFC or other ATRA junior entry establishments. I do not anticipate that this will have any major impact on the Army's recruiting plans in general.