Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of merging 101 Battalion REME with 105 Battalion REME in its relations with the communities in (a) Wrexham and (b) North Wales.

Hightown Barracks Army Reserve Centre in Wrexham is home to the headquarters of 101 Battalion Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. Delivered by 16 regular and Full Time Reservists, 31 reservists and eight civil servants (predominantly officers, warrant officers and senior non-commissioned officers and civilian equivalents), the headquarters provides command and administrative functions for the battalion.

In addition to the battalion headquarters, also occupying the Hightown Barracks Army Reserve Centre are a Platoon from 3rd Battalion The Royal Welsh (31 Reservists including one officer), a detachment from Wales University Officer Training Corps (two senior non-commissioned officers and 25 officer cadets) and a detachment of Clwyd and Gwynedd Army Cadet Force (four adults and 50 cadets). There are currently no plans to close this centre and the Department has consequently had no contact with developers about its future.

The Army remains committed to North Wales and in addition to those elements above in Hightown Barracks Army Reserve Centre, there will also be Army Reserve units in Colwyn Bay, Llandudno, Caenarfon, and Queensferry. The Army Cadet Force also has a wide geographic spread across the area.