Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Army Personnel

Monday 15 March 2021 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Key points

  • The number of personnel currently serving in the Army as full-time trade trained strength is 76,350, supported by 26,920 Army reserves.
  • The Minister declined to confirm whether any regiments are due to be disbanded completely due to an announcement scheduled for the following week.
  • The Minister advised that further details about the cuts, including their impact on Scotland, would be available in the upcoming announcement.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Steven Bonnar
Defence
Context

There is a long-standing issue with the Ministry of Defence failing to meet its recruitment targets, including a previous commitment to base 12,500 personnel in Scotland by 2020. The government now plans to cut an additional 10,000 soldiers.

Question

What recent estimate he has made of the number of personnel serving in the Army and can confirm whether any regiments are due to be disbanded completely and if these further cuts will pertain to Scotland?

Answer from James Heappey

The number of personnel currently serving in the Army as full-time trade trained strength is 76,350. That is supported by 26,920 Army reserves. The hon. Gentleman tempts me to pre-empt the announcement next week.

Not addressed: The specific question about regiments being disbanded and cuts pertaining to Scotland was not answered.

How: Pre-Empting An Announcement, Referring To A Future Announcement

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Q2 Steven Bonnar
Defence Local Government
Context

There is a long-standing issue with the Ministry of Defence failing to meet its recruitment targets, including a previous commitment to base 12,500 personnel in Scotland by 2020. The government now plans to cut an additional 10,000 soldiers.

Question

The Government are now set to cut a further 10,000 soldiers. Can the Minister confirm whether any regiments are due to be disbanded completely and whether these further cuts will pertain to Scotland, which was promised thousands more personnel, not thousands less?

Answer from James Heappey

The hon. Gentleman tempts me to pre-empt the announcement next week. He will have heard my colleagues say already that these are things he just has to wait seven days more to understand.

Not addressed: The specific question about regiments being disbanded and cuts pertaining to Scotland was not answered.

How: Pre-Empting An Announcement, Referring To A Future Announcement

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