Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many members of the Army Reserve are eligible to (a) deploy on overseas exercises, (b) deploy on overseas operations and (c) be mobilised.

Members of the Army Reserve who are eligible to deploy are shown below:

Source: Defence Statistics (Army)

Notes/Caveats:

1. The FR20 population consists of Group A Army Reserves, some Sponsored Reserves and those personnel serving on Full Time Reserve Service contracts who were previously Army Reservists.
2. Those who are Phase 2 trained can be deployed on exercises and operations or mobilised for service overseas.
3. Those who have completed Phase 1 training can be mobilised within the UK. However if required they could complete Phase 2 training as part of their pre-deployment training and then be deployed overseas.
4. Before any individual can be deployed or mobilised several checks, including health and welfare, have to be completed and some individuals may not meet the criteria for that particular role.

5. Reserve Forces Act 1996 limits the period and frequency of when a reservist can be mobilised. For example, Section 56; for any purpose, limits the period to up to 12 months and any service within the previous 36 months counts towards that period.

6. Figures have been rounded to 10 for presentation purposes; numbers ending in "5" have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias.