Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which Army Reserve Centres are envisaged to require armed guarding in Northern Ireland after 2028.

Following a review of the guarding of Army Reserve Centres (ARCs) in Northern Ireland, we have concluded that an armed guard for 13 of the 15 ARCs is no longer appropriate to the current threat and does not align with the normalisation of the Army’s presence in Northern Ireland. As such, the Army is working to implement a change, via consultation, to the guarding levels of the identified 13 ARCs from armed guarding to enhanced physical security measures.

The safety of personnel remains the top priority, and no sites will transition from armed guarding to physical security measures unless deemed safe to do so and with the necessary infrastructure in place. The initial phase of this work will see the first sites set to transition to the physical security guarding level by September 2025, once infrastructure enhancements are complete, with an intent to complete all sites by 2028. The two sites set to continue with armed guarding are Caw Camp and Dunmore.

A briefing to interested parliamentarians will be scheduled shortly to provide further details and to answer any questions about these changes.