To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the operational availability of those forces deployed with the British Army of the Rhine which will not be deployed to the Gulf has declined or increased since 16 September.
The decision to increase our ground forces in the Gulf to divisional strength will have some adverse effect upon the availability of the remaining forces in Germany. Our NATO allies are aware of the planned deployments.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the present number of (a) infantry battalions, (b) armoured regiments and (c) artillery regiments deployed with the British Army of the Rhine.
The information requested is as follows:
| Number | |
| (a) Infantry Battalions | 10 |
| (b) Armoured Regiments | 11 |
| (c) Artillery Regiments | 9 |
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the supply of spare parts for Challenger tanks and Warrior vehicles currently deployed with the British Army of the Rhine has altered as a result of the deployment of the 7 Armoured Brigade to the Gulf.
The units deployed to the Gulf from BAOR took their vehicles and a full scale of spares with them. Additional spares have also been supplied as necessary, with some consequential effects on the spares position in BAOR.