Armed Forces: Deployment Dr. Fox To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many forces personnel are deployed on operations, broken down by location. Mr. Bob Ainsworth The endorsed force levels for UK military operations are set out in the following table. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Location |Endorsed number (at 16 December 2008)1| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Afghanistan2 |8,050 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Southern Iraq |4,150 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Baghdad3 |250 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |At sea |1,050 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Falklands/South Atlantic |1,500 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Qatar |700 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Cyprus |300 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Kuwait |550 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Kosovo |150 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Bahrain |50 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Bosnia |<50 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Other4 |150 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |1 Rounded to 502 On 15 December 2008, the Prime Minister announced a temporary increase in the number of British troops deployed to Afghanistan, from just over 8,000 to 8,300 (Official Report, column 816). The endorsed figure for Operation Herrick 9 remains unaffected.3 Providing support to the Senior British Military Representative—Iraq.4 Small scale deployments in support of EU and UN missions, and headquarters liaison officers.| | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The precise number of personnel in each theatre at any one time fluctuates on a daily basis for a variety of reasons, including mid-tour rest and recuperation, temporary absence for training, evacuation for medical reasons, the roulement of forces, visits and other factors. Dr. Fox To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of the Armed Forces are deployed on (a) operations and (b) other military tasks. Mr. Bob Ainsworth The following table shows the percentage of armed forces personnel deployed on operations and undertaking military tasks during quarters one and two of financial year 2008-09. -------------------------------- | |Q1|Q2|Q1|Q2| -------------------------------- |Naval services |5 |6 |13|9 | -------------------------------- |Army |13|12|7 |8 | -------------------------------- |RAF |7 |7 |7 |7 | -------------------------------- |Total armed forces|9 |9 |9 |8 | -------------------------------- This information is published annually in the Ministry of Defence annual report and accounts. The latest version can be found in Volume I: Annual Performance Report 2007-08 at the following link: http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/AboutDefence/Corporate Publications/AnnualReports/MODAnnualReports0708/ Dr. Fox To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many reservist personnel are currently deployed, broken down by (a) service and (b) location. Mr. Bob Ainsworth Data on the number of reservist personnel currently deployed by service are available in table 1, footnote 1 of Tri-Service Publication (TSP) 01 (UK Regular Forces Strengths and Changes). TSP 01 can be found at: http://bravo.dasa.r.mil.uk/applications/newWeb/www/index. php?page=48&thiscontent=30&date=2008-11-27&pubType =1&PublishTime=09:30:00&from=home&tabOption=3 TSP 01 is a monthly publication; the number of reservists deployed at 1 November will be available from 19 December. The number of reservists deployed by location is not held centrally in individual level databases and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Dr. Fox To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of each battalion of the infantry are in breach of their harmony guidelines for tour intervals. Mr. Bob Ainsworth Tour intervals are measured at unit level. Harmony guidelines at the individual level are expressed in terms of separated service, which relates to the number of nights spent away from an individual’s home base. The guideline for the Army is no one to exceed 415 days separated service in any 30-month period. Separated service figures for each battalion of the infantry are not available centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The latest available figure for the infantry as a whole (as at 31 December 2006), shows 10.7 per cent. of personnel exceeding the separated service guideline. It is hoped that separated service data will in future be provided by the joint personnel administration system. Dr. Fox To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many times elements of the Theatre Reserve Battalion in Cyprus have been deployed to (a) Afghanistan and (b) Iraq in each year since 2003, broken down by (i) length of deployment and (ii) unit down to the company level. Mr. Hutton The Theatre Reserve Battalion, based in Cyprus, has been deployed on the occasions listed in the following table. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Date |Unit |Grouping |Theatre |Duration (months)| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |January 2005 |1 Royal Highland Fusiliers |Battalion HQ and 3 Companies|Iraq |1 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |October 2005 |1 Royal Highland Fusiliers |1 Company |Iraq |1.5 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |April 2006 |2 Royal Regiment Fusiliers |2 Companies |Iraq |2 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |July 2006 |2 Royal Regiment Fusiliers |1 Company |Afghanistan|4 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |September 2006|2 Royal Regiment Fusiliers |Battalion HQ and 2 Companies|Iraq |2 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |January 2007 |2 Royal Regiment Fusiliers |1 Company |Afghanistan|3 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |April 2007 |1 Royal Welsh |Battalion HQ and 1 Company |Afghanistan|5 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |May 2007 |1 Royal Welsh |1 Company |Iraq |4 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |October 2007 |1 Royal Welsh |1 Company |Afghanistan|1 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |November 2007 |1 Royal Welsh |1 Company |Afghanistan|2 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |January 2008 |1 Royal Welsh |1 Company |Afghanistan|1 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |February 2008 |1 Royal Welsh |1 Company |Afghanistan|4 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |June 2008 |2 Princess of Wales Royal Regiment|1 Company |Afghanistan|3 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |August 2008 |2 Princess of Wales Royal Regiment|Battalion HQ and 1 Company |Afghanistan|3 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- One Company from 2 Princess of Wales Royal Regiment is currently deployed to Afghanistan. Andrew Rosindell To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent assessment he has made of the compatibility of the UK's NATO and EU military commitments. Mr. Hutton The UK works with international partners and allies to ensure that NATO and EU military commitments complement each other. One recent example of this complementarity has been the smooth transition of counter-piracy and escort duties off the coast of Somalia from the NATO Standing Maritime Group 2 to the EU maritime taskforce.