To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people there are in the Volunteer Reserve Forces; and what proportion of them have seen active service in either Iraq or Afghanistan. (203678)

The latest manning figures for the Volunteer Reserves (VRs) are as follows:

The overall proportion of VRs who have seen active service in Iraq or Afghanistan is not available, and the steady turnover of the Reserves would render such a figure relatively meaningless, but over 17,000 VRs have been mobilised in support of operations since 2003.

Since 2006, over 2,160 VRs have served in Iraq, and over 2,010 in Afghanistan.