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131 26 OCTOBER 2009 Territorial Army
132
Territorial Army
Motion made, and Question proposed, That this House
do now adjourn.—(Mr. Watts.)
10.17 pm
Mr. Mark Lancaster (North-East Milton Keynes)
(Con): I would like to be able to say that it is a pleasure
to have this Adjournment debate, but I cannot do so.
The matter under discussion is very serious. [Interruption.]
The Government have proposed cuts to the Territorial
Army. That is of concern in all parts of the House, and
I hope the Minister will note—[Interruption.]
Mr. Speaker: Order. I apologise for delaying the hon.
Gentleman, but this is an extremely important Adjournment
debate and Members who are leaving the Chamber
should do so quickly and quietly so that the hon.
Gentleman can be heard.
Mr. Lancaster: I simply ask the Minister to take note
of how many hon. Members have decided to remain for
this Adjournment debate.
I start by declaring my interest: I am a serving member
of the Territorial Army. Indeed, I am very proud to
have served in Bosnia, Kosovo and Afghanistan for this
Government, and I would be delighted to do so again,
but I ask, both for myself and other members of the
Territorial Army, simply to be given the training to be
able to do that.
Let me begin by saying that it is absolutely clear that
this decision is a grave mistake. The sum that the
Government are proposing to cut is not only £20 million;
this is the second cut of the year, so the figure is
£43 million in one financial year. That represents 30 per
cent. of the Territorial Army’s budget, or 50 per cent. of
the TA budget for the last six months of the year to
come. It is ill-conceived, and the timing is appalling.
What sort of organisation, six months through the
financial year, suddenly announces that it is going to
cut all funding? Who is responsible for this? Who is
going to get sacked? Who is going to be held to account
for this decision?
The communication of this decision was equally
appalling, as I appreciate that the Minister accepts. For
members of the Territorial Army—volunteers—to find
out on a Saturday morning via the BBC, rather than
their chain of command, that they might have no more
training is absolutely appalling. I hope that if nothing
else, the Minister will apologise to members of the
Territorial Army for the manner in which they found
out.
The Minister may think he had a problem with the
Gurkhas; I fear, however, that this will be an even bigger
issue for him. Some 37,000 members of the Territorial
Army will all be voting at the next general election, so I
hope the Minister will find some more concessions. I
have been in the TA for nearly 19 years, and I have never
known morale so low, given the manner in which this
cut has been announced and the way in which the
Government have fumbled around for the past two
weeks trying to explain exactly what it is going to be.
Sir Robert Smith (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine)
(LD): I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on focusing
the House on this important issue today. I want to
reinforce the case that he is making to the Minister for
just how important the TA is. I also want to reinforce
the case for the vital role that the TA plays not only in
the front line, but in linking the military to the civilian
community in many parts of the country where there is
no other military footprint.
Mr. Lancaster: The hon. Gentleman makes a valid
point, and it is a subject that I will return to.
Less than six months ago, we had the strategic review
of reserves, which finally gave a clear direction on how
the Territorial Army would support the regular Army
on operations. This is a fundamental point that shows
how short-sighted the Government’s decision is. The
Minister will argue that members of the TA who continue
to be mobilised on operations will have the training that
they need. That may be the case in the short term—I
will argue against that view in a moment—but the
Minister must remember that operational tours in
Afghanistan are just six months long. By stopping all
training now for the next six months, the current Operation
Herrick might not suffer, but future operations will.
That will remove the TA’s ability to regenerate and to
undertake the core basic training that is then built up
during pre-deployment training. So in the short term
we may just get away with this if the Government
are very lucky—although I doubt it—but in the long
term this will have a damaging strategic impact on the
Territorial Army.
I am pleased to say that the Minister has given some
concessions today—a very small step in the right direction.
I am hoping, however, that he will recognise that more
steps are required and that we will hear more concessions
tonight.
The ethos and culture of the TA revolves around drill
nights. The Minister has announced today that we can
have one training night per month, but not having
weekly drill nights will fundamentally undermine the
TA’s ability to operate in the long term. Having regular
training on a Tuesday night is absolutely vital. The
Territorial Army is just that—territorial. Linking back
to the point made by the hon. Member for West
Aberdeenshire and Kincardine (Sir Robert Smith), it is
how the community keeps together. Commanding officers
have told me that, although they welcome one drill
night per month, they need more and are very concerned.
For soldiers returning from Afghanistan, that is absolutely
imperative. Unlike regular Army soldiers, who have
links to their regular unit, the only link that TA soldiers
have when they come back is going in on a drill night. If
commanding officers cannot regularly see their soldiers
returning from Afghanistan, they are simply unable to
monitor them for potential stress-related problems and
ensure that their welfare is in place.
Mr. Robert Goodwill (Scarborough and Whitby) (Con):
If TA centres such as the one in Green lane, Scarborough,
are used only once a month, might that not be just the
excuse the Government are waiting for to start selling
off these units up and down the country?
Mr. Lancaster: I certainly hope that that is not the
case, but perhaps the Minister will address that point
when he winds up.
Drill nights are absolutely vital for the reasons that I
have stated, and unless we can get them back I fear for
the TA, which cannot simply be mothballed and reopened