Minutes of the All Party Group for Reserve Forces meeting 9th December 2008.

Minutes of the All Party Group for Reserve Forces meeting 9th December 2008.

The Rt Hon Bob Ainsworth MP, Minister of State (Armed Forces), Major General Nick Cottam, Reserves Review Team Leader and Major Gen Simon Lalor, Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff (Reserves & Cadets)

Members Present:

Julian Brazier MP (Chair)

Rt Hon James Arbuthnot MP

Lord Attlee

Lord Brookborough

Lord Crathorne

Lord De Mauley

Linda Gilroy MP

Lord Freeman

Mark Lancaster MP

Lord Lee

Dr Andrew Murrison MP

Lord Rogan

Viscount Slim

Associate Member

Paul Beaver

Clerks

Julian Radcliffe

Keith Mans

Other guests:

Air Cdre Mike Lloyd, Director Reserve Forces and Cadets

Ms Elaine Northen - Reserves Review Deputy Team Leader

Col George Butler, Asst Director (Strategic Development), DRFC

Lt Col Martin Cooke RM, Review Team Maritime Member

Lt Col Bill Irving, Review Team Army Member

Maj Mark Nicholas, DRFC

Lt Ric Amorosi RN, DRFC

Paul Beaver

Apologies

Rt Hon Bruce George MP

Sir Peter Viggers MP

Peter Bottomley MP

Frank Cook MP

Lindsay Hoyle MP

Laura Moffatt MP

Dari Taylor MP

Desmond Swayne MP

Julian Brazier welcomed The Minister, Major General Nick Cottam and Major General Simon Lalor back to the All Party Group on Reserve Forces to report on progress in the Reserves Review.

Mr. Ainsworth welcomed the contributions made by the APG and the constructive dialogue between the MOD project team conducting the review and the Group. He announced that the findings of the review will probably be announced in February.

General Cottam began by paying tribute to Armed Forces currently in action in Afghanistan and Iraq. He explained that the briefing presentation concerned headline findings rather than specific recommendations. He described the origins of the review. With the increased mobilisation of reserves and problems with access to training, support and equipment it was important to conduct a review. The review’s aim was to address capability and ways of improving the reserves in the 21st Century. Critically, the review needed to balance requirements of current operations and the sustainability of the reserves in the future.

The review has taken two extensive tours around the UK, consulting with reserve groups. The General summarised the roles of the reserves: to strengthen maximum effort, to provide augmentation for resilience and to connect the armed forces with wider society. The review’s ‘proposition’ for the reservist was directed towards improved recruiting and retention, whilst improving operational capability of the Reserves.

General Cottam listed some twenty small studies or ‘think pieces’, mentioning four in particular:

1) The regular reserve balance. This indicated that Britain was out of line with most allies with similar armed forces in having a smaller proportion in the volunteer reserves.

2) The Maritime Reserves where there seemed to be an imbalance between capability and requirements, in the RNR.

3) The National TA.

4) UK Ops. These were a considerable user of scarce man training days, whose training utility was being carefully scrutinised

He noted that such work has stored a large amount of ‘corporate memory’ for the future.

The presentation then went on to address key top level themes of the review. General Cottam discussed the increased short fall in Royal Naval Reserves and fully stretched Royal Marine Reserves. He listed the main problems associated with the TA structures. He believed that these included the complex structure of the TA for its size, its limited flexibility and lack of adequate regional training centres. He also said that work had to be done to recruit more reservists into the Royal Auxiliary Air Force. He stressed that the review was not about cuts, but a need to re-balance different parts of the reserves.

Moving onto the capability framework of the review, General Cottam said that the inflexibility of regulars moving to volunteer service is an issue. More incentives for regulars to join the volunteer reserves should be a priority.

General Cottam also said that modernisation and better utilisation of the volunteer estate needed addressing. The Review recognised that the RFCAs did a good, cost-effective job managing the existing property but a 21st Century footprint for the reserves was needed.

General Cottam concluded his presentation by setting out possible review outcomes. Reserves would be better understood and integrated. They would be more consistently trained and enjoy more flexible terms and conditions.

Major General Simon Lalor, spoke briefly on the review and complimented the project team on the quality of their work.

Questions

Andrew Murrison MP raised the question of Reserve Liability issues relating to regulars joining volunteer reserves once retired.

General Cottam said that it was only a small proportion of regular forces that would be of benefit in the TA when nearing retirement. However he noted that many regulars didn’t join the reserves once retired, because nobody briefed them on opportunities.

Keith Mans noted that it was not a perfect time to implement a review of the reserves during the current financial climate. He hoped that review implementation would be carried out sooner rather than later, given that climate. He also asked how the review would make it easier for cadets to join the Reserves, especially those reaching 18.

General Cottam said that the Review’s terms of references did not include cadets. However, the review proposals would make it easier for cadets to join the reserves.

Local recruitment offices will in future make it easier for cadets to do so. With regards to his first point on the current economic conditions, the review wants to improve management capability without major cost. The review team wants to make defence recommendations affordable and manage risk expectation.

Lord Lee asked what the Review will do to address the development gap faced by the reserve forces.

General Cottam said that the Review will help address some of the development gap problems by looking at better training and equipment as part of the offer to the reserves.

Lord De Mauley asked whether the Review would deal with the large levels of paper work and issues around medicals to join the Regulars from the TA.

General Cottam felt that this was important. Increasing use of computers could greatly reduce the burden of paperwork.

Lord Freeman (President of the RFCAs) said that he was impressed by the quality of the briefing and clarity of presentation. Lord Freeman stressed the importance of implementing the recommendations of the review as soon as possible.

Bob Ainsworth reiterated that he expected the review recommendations to be published around February.

Julian Brazier – Made a quick intervention to ask who will be carrying on the work of the Review once General Nick Cottam moved post? (His deputy, Miss Elaine Northen was also moving on in January)

General Nick Cottam said that there would be no loss of continuity from him moving on as Major General Simon Lalor Air Commodore Mike Lloyd would be in point position with several members of the project team staying on to see it through.

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James Arbuthnot commented on the clarity of the briefing and commended the openness of the Minister and Generals in informing the Group. He hoped that this would be a role model for the future.

Julian Brazier thanked the guests and closed the meeting at 18:03