Asked by: Lord De Mauley (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Goldie on 14 October (HL2832), whether they can confirm that, of the posts listed, only the Director Reserves, Army Headquarters and Deputy Commander Field Army posts are (1) held by officers with previous reserve experience, and (2) within the army chain of command.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
I can confirm that of the posts listed, only the Director Reserves, Army Headquarters and Deputy Commander Field Army posts are held by officers with previous reserve experience, and within the Army Chain of Command. Major Generals Brooks-Ward, Ashmore and Herbert are all officers with previous reserve experience; however, their current posts are not within the Army Chain of Command.
Asked by: Lord De Mauley (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many serving major generals there are in the Army Reserve, listed by name and post; and how many there will be after implementation of the Integrated Review.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
As at 1 July 2021, there are five trained FR20 Reserves of Paid Rank Major General. These are:
Major General Brooks-Ward - Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff (Reserves and Cadets). This is a Joint Competition appointment and could also be filled by the RN or RAF if selected by the Senior Appointments Committee.
Major General Graham - Director Reserves, Army Headquarters.
Major General Harvey - Deputy Commander Field Army.
Major General Ashmore – Army Reserve Reinforcement Group
Major General Herbert - Army Reserve Reinforcement Group
Notes/ Caveats:
1. The Trained FR20 population in the table consists of Group A Army Reserves, some Sponsored Reserves and those personnel serving on FTRS contracts who were previously Army Reservists.
2. The figure above includes Major Generals that contribute towards the previously defined FR20 population and excludes those personnel who do not. E.g., those Reservists on service complaint panels and the Governor of Edinburgh Castle.
3. Figures are as at 1 July 2021 in line with the protocols for release of personnel statistics.
Detailed plans for the future structure of the Army are still being refined. There will be announcements made on our intent for both the regular and reserve force in due course.
Asked by: Lord De Mauley (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have (1) to maintain, and (2) to increase volunteer (a) support, and (b) influence, in the work of the Reserve Forces' and Cadets Associations' under the proposed formation of a Non-Departmental Public Body.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
The 2019 Review of the Reserve Forces’ and Cadets’ Associations (RFCAs) recognised the value that the RFCAs bring to Defence and that a key strength is their extensive volunteer membership and community links. In implementing the Review’s recommendations, the Ministry of Defence will look to both preserve and enhance the volunteer ethos, establishing a diverse and inclusive organisation. This includes interim changes to the Schemes of Association to ensure alignment with Equality and Discrimination legislation and to better enable the RFCAs to attract wider talent that is representative of the communities in which they work.
Asked by: Lord De Mauley (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that the cadet forces provide opportunities for children from disadvantaged backgrounds following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
With around 3,500 individual cadet units across the UK, many in less affluent areas, they reflect the communities in which they are located. The increase in the number of cadet units in schools under the Government’s joint Ministry of Defence and Department for Education Cadet Expansion Programme, targeted in less affluent areas, has resulted in more children from disadvantaged backgrounds having access to the benefits of the cadet experience.
All cadets, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds, will benefit from the greater opportunities that returning to face-to-face activity offers. Research shows that taking part in the cadet forces develops key attributes in young people. The return to face-to-face activity will also include re-establishing education packages through the Cadet Vocational Qualification Organisation, vocational qualifications which we know benefit many from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Asked by: Lord De Mauley (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the level of service provided by armed forces personnel on Christmas Eve in undertaking mass COVID-19 testing of lorry drivers in Kent to enable those drivers to cross the English Channel; and what plans they have to thank formally those personnel for that service.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
Over the Christmas period, 800 service personnel deployed to Kent to provide COVID-19 testing for hauliers crossing the English Channel, including support to food and welfare distribution. To date, over 40,000 tests have been conducted, allowing thousands of freight vehicles to travel to France.
Defence is extremely grateful for the work of all its personnel involved in COVID-19 activity across the UK.
Asked by: Lord De Mauley (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they intend to publish the Reserve Forces and Cadets Associations External Scrutiny Team Report 2020.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
We are very grateful to the External Scrutiny Team for their work, and the Ministry of Defence will publish their 2020 report early in the New Year.
Asked by: Lord De Mauley (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when the report of the External Scrutiny Team on the Reserve Forces, provided to the Ministry of Defence on 1 June, will be placed in the Library of the House.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
The report, which was received on 1 July 2019, was placed in the Library of the House on 3 September 2019. The Ministry of Defence will respond to the report in due course.
Asked by: Lord De Mauley (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they expect the Defence Recruiting System to be able to process enlistments to the Army Reserve.
Answered by Earl Howe - Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
The Defence Recruiting System (DRS) went live on 13 November and replaced a 20 year old system. It will enable a quicker and easier recruitment process for applicants and the Armed Forces.
As with any new information system defects have been identified post 'Go Live' and we recognise that for a couple of months these created some problems with the application process, including particular issues regarding the enlistment of new Army Reserves.
These issues have been urgently addressed and are either fixed or have temporary mitigations in place to minimise applicant facing issues. With these mitigations DRS is now processing enlistments to the Army Reserve.
Asked by: Lord De Mauley (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
Her Majesty's Government when the United Kingdom Reserve Forces External Scrutiny Team 2017 report was submitted to the Ministry of Defence; and when it will be published.
Answered by Earl Howe - Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence (Sir Michael Fallon) received the External Scrutiny Team's 2017 report on 22 June and it has today been placed in the Library of the House. We are most grateful to the Team for its work and we will provide a full response to the report in due course.