Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether their plan to reduce the army troop size to 72,500 by the year 2025 still remains, as set out in their Defence in a Competitive Age command paper, published on 22 March 2021 and updated on 30 July 2021.

There are currently no plans to reverse the decision to reduce the number of regular Army personnel to 73,000. The Integrated Review and Defence Command Paper made clear that we must focus on Defence capability rather than troop numbers in response to changing threats and priorities. The British Army will be more integrated and active, with a whole force of over 100,000 regulars and reservists, to address current and future threats.

We are continuing to monitor the situation globally, including in Ukraine, and, in line with planning and delivery mechanisms developed following the Integrated Review, we will continue to review our capabilities and readiness levels accordingly.