Asked by: Adam Holloway (Conservative - Gravesham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the extent of the UK's responsibility for the security of former members of Commando Force 333.
Answered by James Heappey
The ARAP scheme provides relocation or other assistance specifically to Afghan nationals who worked for or alongside UK forces in support of the UK's mission in Afghanistan, as set out in the specific eligibility criteria in the ARAP policy.
Members of the Afghan national security forces such as Commando Force 333 - whilst their efforts heroic - are not automatically in scope for relocation under ARAP unless they meet these criteria.
Those who are eligible can also apply for support in the UK under Op NEWHOPE. The Ministry of Defence works closely with third sector partners to deliver Operation NEWHOPE, which is our pastoral commitment to support the individuals who have and want to maintain their Defence connection by providing camaraderie, community support, and pathways to employment.
Asked by: Adam Holloway (Conservative - Gravesham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has plans to support former members of Commando Force 333.
Answered by James Heappey
The ARAP scheme provides relocation or other assistance specifically to Afghan nationals who worked for or alongside UK forces in support of the UK's mission in Afghanistan, as set out in the specific eligibility criteria in the ARAP policy.
Members of the Afghan national security forces such as Commando Force 333 - whilst their efforts heroic - are not automatically in scope for relocation under ARAP unless they meet these criteria.
Those who are eligible can also apply for support in the UK under Op NEWHOPE. The Ministry of Defence works closely with third sector partners to deliver Operation NEWHOPE, which is our pastoral commitment to support the individuals who have and want to maintain their Defence connection by providing camaraderie, community support, and pathways to employment.
Asked by: Adam Holloway (Conservative - Gravesham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many former members of Commando Force 333 are in the UK.
Answered by James Heappey
As of 8 September, we have relocated over 12,200 individuals under the ARAP scheme to the UK. It is not possible to provide a breakdown of these figures by job role or specific unit.
Not all members of the Afghan Armed Forces, including specific units such as Commando Force 333 will automatically be eligible for ARAP. However, we are prioritising finding remaining eligible applications who are awaiting a decision as quickly as we can.
Asked by: Adam Holloway (Conservative - Gravesham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of how many former members of Commando Force 333 have died since the fall of Kabul.
Answered by James Heappey
It is not possible to provide an accurate estimate for the number of members of Commando Force 333 who have died since the fall of Kabul. Not all former members of CF333 will have applied for relocation under the ARAP scheme, and some ARAP applicants may have changed their contact details or decided to relocate elsewhere without informing us.
Asked by: Adam Holloway (Conservative - Gravesham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many former members of Commando Force 333 remain in Afghanistan.
Answered by James Heappey
As of 6 September, 582 confirmed ARAP-eligible people remain in Afghanistan. We are unable to break down our figures by specific job role or unit.
Asked by: Adam Holloway (Conservative - Gravesham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he (a) received and (b) plans to publish the Reserves Forces' and Cadets' Association External Scrutiny Team 2022 Report.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Reserves Forces' and Cadets' Association External Scrutiny Team 2022 Report was received on 8 September 2022. The Secretary of State for Defence will issue a full Departmental response to the report in the coming weeks. A copy of the report and the response will be placed in the Library of the House together.
Asked by: Adam Holloway (Conservative - Gravesham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the (a) trained workforce requirement and (b) weapon inventory of support weapons for an army reserve infantry battalion was in January 2022; and what it is planned to be in the future, listed by category (i) anti-tank weapons, (ii) mortars, (iii) machine guns, (iv) assault pioneers.
Answered by James Heappey
In January 2022, the workforce requirement varied for each of the Army Reserve infantry battalions. Under Future Soldier, structures will be standardised to mitigate such variations and bring coherence. All Army Reserve infantry battalions will therefore adopt a common structure based on either a three or four sub-unit model in the future.
Whilst there are changes under Future Soldier, the requirement for each Army Reserve infantry battalion to provide a support weapons capability will endure, to deliver reinforcement to the Army's regular battalions for warfighting.
As with Regular Army battalions, I am withholding a breakdown of both the workforce requirement and weapon inventory as disclosure would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the British Army.
Asked by: Adam Holloway (Conservative - Gravesham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answers of 9 February 2022 to Question 117745 on Army Reserve: Training and of 28 March 2022 to Question 906313 on Army Reserve, what recent estimate he has made of the trained workforce requirement of the Army Reserve, excluding those personnel undergoing phase 1 training, under future plans, broken down by (a) the British Army, (b) Strategic Command, (c) the Royal Navy, (d) the RAF and (e) other; and if he will provide those figures in comparison to those given in Answer to Question 117745.
Answered by James Heappey
I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 9 February 2022 to Questions 117744 and 117745 to the hon. Member for South Norfolk, as the figures showing future workforce requirement of the Army Reserve have not changed.
Asked by: Adam Holloway (Conservative - Gravesham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when the 2021 report of the RFCA External Scrutiny Team was received by his office; and when he plans to publish it.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The Ministry of Defence received the Reserves Forces External Scrutiny Team's report last year.
A copy of the report was placed in the Library of the House on 26 May 2022: Reserve Forces and Cadets Association External Scrutiny Team Report 2021 DEP2022-0444.
Asked by: Adam Holloway (Conservative - Gravesham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many part-time volunteer major generals there are in the Army Reserve as of September 2021; and how many there are planned to be after the implementation of the Integrated Review.
Answered by James Heappey
Trained FR20 Reserves of Paid Rank Major General, as at 1 July 2021:
| Rank | Total |
| Major General | 5 |
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.