To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will give such details as he is prepared to make public of the military equipment of the Ulster Defence Regiment and its reserve, listing separately firearms and the type of firearms, motor vehicles, armoured vehicles and the number of radio, radar and electronics surveillance equipment with which the regiment was equipped at the end of 1989.
The current deployment of weapons and vehicles for the Ulster Defence Regiment is as follows; the equivalent data for the end of 1989 have not been kept. The UDR has no reserve.
| Weapons and vehicles | Number |
| 5.56mm Rifle SA 80 | 5,843 |
| 5.56mm Rifle Light Support Weapon | 912 |
| 7.62mm Machine Gun | 6 |
| 9mm Pistol (Browning) | 1865 |
| 9mm Pistol (Walther) | 21,985 |
| Shotgun | 3 |
| L67 Riot Gun | 167 |
| Landrovers | 447 |
Weapons and vehicles
| Number
|
| 4 Ton Trucks | 16 |
| Trailers | 61 |
| Recruiting Trailer | 1 |
| Other Vehicles | 340 |
1 265 of which are issued as personal protection weapons—PPWs. | |
2 1,846 of which are issued as PPWs. | |
The Walther 9mm pistol has replaced the .38in revolver, the .22in pistol, and 7.65mm pistol as the standard UDR PPW. However, some Browning 9mm pistols are still issued as PPWs. The L67 riot gun was issued for use by the UDR in 1989. Other equipment can be issued when commitments or circumstances dictate. The radio allocation varies from week to week, depending upon the tasks and commitments of each battalion.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement concerning current policy and practice of deployment of the Ulster Defence Regiment, with particular reference to the areas and circumstances in which it is deemed opportune and inopportune to deploy the regiment.
The role of the Ulster Defence Regiment, as of any other regiment deployed in Northern Ireland, is to support the Royal Ulster Constabulary in the fight against terrorism. To fulfil this role the Ulster Defence Regiment may be deployed how and where military support to the police is required, except that for policy reasons the Ulster Defence Regiment is riot deployed in west Belfast or the city of Londonderry; nor is it used for crowd control or riot duties.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the Ulster Defence Regiment are currently estimated to be Catholics; what was the total recruitment in 1989; and what proportion of those recruited in 1989 are thought to be Catholic.
At the end of April 1990, a total of 184 soldiers, or 3 per cent. of the UDR were Roman Catholics. During the period 1 January to 31 December 1989, a total of 898 were enlisted, 34 of whom were Catholics.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will give details of the number of operatives, by rank, of those who have joined the Ulster Defence Regiment and its reserve, and of those who have resigned from the Ulster Defence Regiment, and its reserve, in the calendar year 1989.
My noble Friend the Under-Secretary of State for the Armed Forces will write to the hon. Member.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will give details of the costs of the Ulster Defence Regiment and its reserve, divided between wages and salaries, other personnel costs, costs of construction and buildings, investment in military equipment and other costs for the fiscal years 1988–89 and 1989–90.
Estimated costs of the Ulster Defence Regiment for the financial years 1988–89 and 1989–90 are as follows:
£ million, current prices
| ||||
Financial year
| Wages and salaries
| Support costs
| Capital expenditure on equipment
| Total
|
| 1988–89 | 54·1 | 5·0 | 0·6 | 59·7 |
| 1989–90 | 54·7 | 5·0 | 0·6 | 60·3 |
The figures for works costs are not readily available.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the average time served by (i) full-time and (ii) part-time (a) officers and (b) other ranks of the Ulster Defence Regiment as at 31 December 1989.
The most recent information available is for 1988 when the average length of service in the UDR was:
| Permanent cadre | Part-time | |
| Officers | ||
| Male | 4 years 6 months | 9 years 4 months |
| Female | 4 years 5 months | 4 years 1 month |
| Soldiers | ||
| Male | 7 years 6 months | 6 years 9 months |
| Female | 6 years 9 months | 4 years 6 months |