Reserve army recruitment drive ‘a sorry state of affairs’
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Version 0 of 1. Fresh questions have been raised about the government’s controversial plan to bolster the number of army reservists. The defence minister, Julian Brazier, was summoned to the Commons on Monday to answer questions over reports of serious problems with the expensive recruitment drive. The army attracted just seven additional recruits a month over a three-month period but needed 250 extra recruits a month to meet its target, according to the Tory MP John Baron. Reflecting the concern among backbenchers of all parties, he described the situation as a “sorry state of affairs”. The Ministry of Defence did not dispute the findings but said it was a net figure and took into account the approximately 20,000 reservists who had left during that period. Capita, a private firm, had agreed to a £15m-a year-contract for army recruitment, the shadow defence minister, Kevan Jones, told MPs. It was being awarded £2.5m per recruit, he added. The government has increased the reserves’ upper age limit for former regular soldiers from 43 to 52. Brazier said older people could fill specialist roles in intelligence and medicine. Under government plans the army will shrink from 102,000 to 82,000 by 2020, the smallest it has been since the Napoleonic wars. The Tories want to increase the number of trained reservists 19,300 to 30,000. Ministers said army reservists should play a more integral role, though it remained unclear whether they would serve only in the event of an emergency. Brazier told MPs: “We have always recognised that reinvigorating our reserve forces would not be achieved overnight. However, one year into our five-year plan we are making steady progress and seeing increased numbers joining the reserves.” |