@prefix rdf: . @prefix nfo: . @prefix xsd: . @prefix dcterms: . @prefix skos: . @prefix rdfs: . @prefix api: . @prefix parl: . parl:answerText "

Since 2020 UK defence spending has seen several substantial increases, starting with a £20 billion cash increase in SR20, additional funding for munitions and wider resilience, as well as an additional £11 billion as part of the 2023 Spring Statement

Over the next decade we have increased the budget for our Equipment Plan to £288.6 billion to ensure that the Armed Forces have the next generation equipment they need to defend Britain and maintain a strategic advantage.

During this time we have continued to meet all operational commitments, including participating in every single NATO mission, as well as supporting the Granting in Kind of equipment, and training to Ukraine.

We recognise the world is more uncertain and volatile than it has been for several years, and we have set out our longer-term aspiration to invest 2.5% of GDP on defence when the fiscal and economic circumstances allow.

" ; parl:answeringMember ; parl:answeringMemberConstituency "Wells" ; parl:answeringMemberPrinted "James Heappey" ; parl:dateOfAnswer "2024-03-25"^^xsd:dateTime ; parl:isMinisterialCorrection false ; parl:questionFirstAnswered "2024-03-25T14:39:57.257Z"^^xsd:dateTime . parl:answer ; parl:answeringDeptId "11" ; parl:answeringDeptPrinted "Ministry of Defence" ; parl:answeringDeptShortName "Defence" ; parl:answeringDeptSortName "Defence" ; parl:hansardHeading "Armed Forces" ; parl:houseId "1" ; parl:legislature ; parl:questionText "To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 30 January 2024 to Question 10758 on Armed Forces, if he will name the regiments in the (a) Army and (b) Royal Marines which have been (i) disbanded and (ii) merged since 2010." ; parl:registeredInterest false ; parl:tablingMember ; parl:tablingMemberConstituency "Croydon Central" ; parl:tablingMemberPrinted "Sarah Jones" ; parl:uin "18550" ; dcterms:date "2024-03-13"^^xsd:dateTime . rdfs:label "Biography information for John Healey" . dcterms:title "Armed Forces: Recruitment" ; nfo:fileName "UIN 9841.docx" . parl:answer ; parl:answeringDeptId "11" ; parl:answeringDeptPrinted "Ministry of Defence" ; parl:answeringDeptShortName "Defence" ; parl:answeringDeptSortName "Defence" ; parl:hansardHeading "Armed Forces" ; parl:houseId "1" ; parl:legislature ; parl:questionText "To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to future proof the Armed Forces against new security threats." ; parl:registeredInterest false ; parl:tablingMember ; parl:tablingMemberConstituency "Portsmouth South" ; parl:tablingMemberPrinted "Stephen Morgan" ; parl:uin "18789" ; dcterms:date "2024-03-14"^^xsd:dateTime . parl:answer ; parl:answeringDeptId "11" ; parl:answeringDeptPrinted "Ministry of Defence" ; parl:answeringDeptShortName "Defence" ; parl:answeringDeptSortName "Defence" ; parl:hansardHeading "Armed Forces" ; parl:houseId "1" ; parl:legislature ; parl:questionText "To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many personnel in the Armed Forces had (a) four and (b) five years of service in (i) 2023 and (ii) 2024." ; parl:registeredInterest false ; parl:tablingMember ; parl:tablingMemberConstituency "Wentworth and Dearne" ; parl:tablingMemberPrinted "John Healey" ; parl:uin "18649" ; dcterms:date "2024-03-14"^^xsd:dateTime . parl:answer ; parl:answeringDeptId "11" ; parl:answeringDeptPrinted "Ministry of Defence" ; parl:answeringDeptShortName "Defence" ; parl:answeringDeptSortName "Defence" ; parl:hansardHeading "Armed Forces" ; parl:houseId "1" ; parl:legislature ; parl:questionText "To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of trends in the level of his Department's budget on the operational capability of the armed forces." ; parl:registeredInterest false ; parl:tablingMember ; parl:tablingMemberConstituency "Slough" ; parl:tablingMemberPrinted "Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi" ; parl:uin "18933" ; dcterms:date "2024-03-15"^^xsd:dateTime . parl:answer ; parl:answeringDeptId "11" ; parl:answeringDeptPrinted "Ministry of Defence" ; parl:answeringDeptShortName "Defence" ; parl:answeringDeptSortName "Defence" ; parl:hansardHeading "Armed Forces" ; parl:houseId "1" ; parl:legislature ; parl:questionText "To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to recruit armed forces personnel." ; parl:registeredInterest false ; parl:tablingMember ; parl:tablingMemberConstituency "Preseli Pembrokeshire" ; parl:tablingMemberPrinted "Stephen Crabb" ; parl:uin "902184" ; dcterms:date "2024-03-19"^^xsd:dateTime . rdfs:label "Biography information for Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi" . parl:answer ; parl:answeringDeptId "11" ; parl:answeringDeptPrinted "Ministry of Defence" ; parl:answeringDeptShortName "Defence" ; parl:answeringDeptSortName "Defence" ; parl:hansardHeading "Armed Forces" ; parl:houseId "2" ; parl:legislature ; parl:questionText "To ask His Majesty's Government how many operational personnel of the British Army are currently based in (1) England, (2) Wales, (3) Scotland, (4) Northern Ireland, and (5) overseas." ; parl:registeredInterest false ; parl:tablingMember ; parl:tablingMemberPrinted "Lord Wigley" ; parl:uin "HL3353" ; dcterms:date "2024-03-18"^^xsd:dateTime . parl:answerText "

The largest pay increase in more than 20 years is indicative of the Government’s commitment to our Armed Forces. In addition we will continue to support public facing events such as Armed Forces Day, and respond to concerns from the Defence community on issues like medallic recognition.

" ; parl:answeringMember ; parl:answeringMemberConstituency "South West Wiltshire" ; parl:answeringMemberPrinted "Dr Andrew Murrison" ; parl:dateOfAnswer "2024-02-19"^^xsd:dateTime ; parl:isMinisterialCorrection false ; parl:questionFirstAnswered "2024-02-19T16:15:53.877Z"^^xsd:dateTime . parl:answerText "

In a challenging labour market, we continue to apply an array of measures to support recruitment and retention and refine the Armed Forces’ offer including last year with the largest pay increase for more than two decades. Haythornthwaite Review teams have been stood up across Defence to implement all of Rick Haythornthwaite’s 67 recommendations, working to establish a reward and incentivisation architecture that will attract and retain the skills we need in the years ahead.

" ; parl:answeringMember ; parl:answeringMemberConstituency "South West Wiltshire" ; parl:answeringMemberPrinted "Dr Andrew Murrison" ; parl:dateOfAnswer "2024-03-25"^^xsd:dateTime ; parl:isMinisterialCorrection false ; parl:questionFirstAnswered "2024-03-25T16:58:42.433Z"^^xsd:dateTime . parl:answer ; parl:answeringDeptId "11" ; parl:answeringDeptPrinted "Ministry of Defence" ; parl:answeringDeptShortName "Defence" ; parl:answeringDeptSortName "Defence" ; parl:hansardHeading "Armed Forces" ; parl:houseId "1" ; parl:legislature ; parl:questionText "To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many personnel had served in the Armed Forces for four years or more in each of the last five years." ; parl:registeredInterest false ; parl:tablingMember ; parl:tablingMemberConstituency "Wentworth and Dearne" ; parl:tablingMemberPrinted "John Healey" ; parl:uin "18648" ; dcterms:date "2024-03-14"^^xsd:dateTime . skos:prefLabel "House of Commons" . parl:answer ; parl:answeringDeptId "11" ; parl:answeringDeptPrinted "Ministry of Defence" ; parl:answeringDeptShortName "Defence" ; parl:answeringDeptSortName "Defence" ; parl:hansardHeading "Armed Forces" ; parl:houseId "1" ; parl:legislature ; parl:questionText "To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to (a) upgrade military equipment and (b) increase recruitment." ; parl:registeredInterest false ; parl:tablingMember ; parl:tablingMemberConstituency "Totnes" ; parl:tablingMemberPrinted "Anthony Mangnall" ; parl:uin "13833" ; dcterms:date "2024-02-08"^^xsd:dateTime . rdfs:label "Biography information for Sarah Jones" . rdfs:label "Biography information for James Cartlidge" . skos:prefLabel "House of Lords" . rdfs:label "Biography information for Lord Wigley" . parl:answerText "

The below table shows the number of personnel within UK Regular forces with the exact Length of Service of four or more years.

Year

Four years or more service

2020

104,630

2021

105,780

2022

106,200

2023

102,630

2024

101,430

The below table shows the number of personnel within UK Regulars with a Length of Service of four and five years, as at 1 January in each year.

Year

4 Years

5 Years

2023

7,100

7,460

2024

9,780

6,290

" ; parl:answeringMember ; parl:answeringMemberConstituency "South West Wiltshire" ; parl:answeringMemberPrinted "Dr Andrew Murrison" ; parl:dateOfAnswer "2024-03-19"^^xsd:dateTime ; parl:groupedQuestionUIN "18648" ; parl:isMinisterialCorrection false ; parl:questionFirstAnswered "2024-03-19T17:21:54.937Z"^^xsd:dateTime . rdfs:label "Biography information for James Heappey" . parl:answerText "

Our readiness to deter will be increased through investment in the resilience of the UK’s munitions infrastructure, including storage facilities and stockpiles. The £1.95 billion for resilience and readiness will be spent on measures to address gaps in our capabilities. We are transforming the Department’s workforce model to attract and retain the talent needed. Our Regular and Reserve Armed Forces are fully committed to defending our country and its allies.

" ; parl:answeringMember ; parl:answeringMemberConstituency "Wells" ; parl:answeringMemberPrinted "James Heappey" ; parl:dateOfAnswer "2024-03-26"^^xsd:dateTime ; parl:isMinisterialCorrection false ; parl:questionFirstAnswered "2024-03-26T11:11:11.413Z"^^xsd:dateTime . rdfs:label "Biography information for Dr Andrew Murrison" . parl:answer ; parl:answeringDeptId "11" ; parl:answeringDeptPrinted "Ministry of Defence" ; parl:answeringDeptShortName "Defence" ; parl:answeringDeptSortName "Defence" ; parl:hansardHeading "Armed Forces" ; parl:houseId "1" ; parl:legislature ; parl:questionText "To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to recognise the contribution of armed forces personnel." ; parl:registeredInterest false ; parl:tablingMember ; parl:tablingMemberConstituency "Uxbridge and South Ruislip" ; parl:tablingMemberPrinted "Steve Tuckwell" ; parl:uin "901535" ; dcterms:date "2024-02-08"^^xsd:dateTime . parl:answerText "

The Defence Command Paper 21 made several significant announcements around new and upgrading military equipment and we are recapitalising across a range of equipment. Recently announced investments include Jackal 3, Protector Remotely Piloted Air System, Space Control capabilities and Type 31 Frigates. These choices ensure investment in modern warfighting capabilities that will endure and provide relevance well into the next decade.

For the second part of the hon. Member's question, with regards to recruitment, please refer to the answer provided by the right hon. Dr Andrew Murrison on 19 January 2024 to Question 9841.

" ; parl:answeringMember ; parl:answeringMemberConstituency "South Suffolk" ; parl:answeringMemberPrinted "James Cartlidge" ; parl:attachment ; parl:dateOfAnswer "2024-03-04"^^xsd:dateTime ; parl:isMinisterialCorrection false ; parl:questionFirstAnswered "2024-03-04T15:51:45.257Z"^^xsd:dateTime . rdfs:label "Biography information for The Earl of Minto" . parl:answerText "

The below table shows the number of personnel within UK Regular forces with the exact Length of Service of four or more years.

Year

Four years or more service

2020

104,630

2021

105,780

2022

106,200

2023

102,630

2024

101,430

The below table shows the number of personnel within UK Regulars with a Length of Service of four and five years, as at 1 January in each year.

Year

4 Years

5 Years

2023

7,100

7,460

2024

9,780

6,290

" ; parl:answeringMember ; parl:answeringMemberConstituency "South West Wiltshire" ; parl:answeringMemberPrinted "Dr Andrew Murrison" ; parl:dateOfAnswer "2024-03-19"^^xsd:dateTime ; parl:groupedQuestionUIN "18649" ; parl:isMinisterialCorrection false ; parl:questionFirstAnswered "2024-03-19T17:21:54.89Z"^^xsd:dateTime . parl:answerText "

Further to the table provided to you in my letter of 7 February, the British Army regiments which have been disbanded since 2010 have been listed below.

As noted in that letter, this information represents single Service estimates based on management information which is not gathered for statistical purposes or subject to the same level of scrutiny as official statistics produced by Defence Statistics. I have attached an updated table to reflect minor discrepancies in the original which were observed during further analysis.

Within the Royal Armoured Corps, the 1st and 2nd Royal Tank Regiments were merged to become The Royal Tank Regiment in 2014. The Queen’s Royal Lancers merged with the 9th/12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales’s) to become the Royal Lancers in 2015. For the Reserves, the Royal Mercian and Lancastrian Yeomanry was placed in suspended animation in 2014. The Scottish and North Irish Yeomanry was created in the same year.

Within the Army Air Corps, 9th Regiment Army Air Corps was disbanded as a front-line regiment in 2016 and re-established as a flying regiment in 2018.

Within the Royal Artillery, 40th Regiment Royal Artillery was placed into suspended animation in 2012 as was 39th Regiment in 2015. For the Reserves, 100 (Yeomanry) Regiment Royal Artillery was placed in suspended animation in 2014.

The table below has been updated for the Royal Engineers. Within this Corps, 25 Engineer Regiment was disbanded in 2012 as was 38 Engineer Regiment in 2013. 28 Engineer Regiment was disbanded in 2014 but re-established in 2018. For the Reserves, both 72 and 73 Engineer Regiments disbanded in 2014. There were also two hybridised regiments; 101 Engineer Regiment and 33 Engineer Regiment. 101 Engineer Regiment became a Reserve regiment in 2018 and 33 Engineer Regiment became Regular regiment.

Within the Royal Signals, 7 Signal Regiment disbanded in 2012. 15 Signal Regiment was re-formed in 2015 and 13 Signal Regiment in 2020. For the Reserves, 38 Signal Regiment disbanded in 2015.

The table below has been updated for the Royal Electrical Mechanical Engineers (REME). Within this Regiment, 5 Battalion REME was formed in 2013. In 2015, 10 Battalion REME and 11 Battalion REME merged to become 8 Battalion REME. For the Reserves, 104 Battalion REME was disbanded in 2013. This was then re-established in 2015 along with 105 and 106 Battalions. However, in 2018, 104 Battalion merged with 103, 105 Battalion merged with 101, and 106 Battalion merged with 102.

The table below has been updated for the Royal Logistic Corps (RLC). Within this Corps, 8 Regiment RLC was disbanded in 2012. 12 Logistic Support Regiment was disbanded in 2013. 2 Logistic Support Regiment, 23 and 24 Regiment RLC were disbanded in 2014. 5 Training Regiment RLC disbanded in 2016 and 3 Regiment RLC in 2023. For the Reserves, 88 Postal and Courier Regiment, 155 and 160 Transport Regiments, 166 Supply Regiment and 168 Pioneer Regiment were disbanded in 2014.

Within the Royal Army Medical Corps, 2 Medical Regiment and 33 Field Hospital were disbanded in 2018. 3 Medical Regiment disbanded in 2022 when a number of re-designations took place. For the Reserves, in 2023, 225 (Scottish) Medical Regiment merged with 205 (Scottish) Field Hospital, 253 (Northern Ireland) Medical Regiment merged with 204 (Northern Ireland) Field Hospital, 201 Field Hospital merged with 212 Field Hospital and 207 Field Hospital merged with 208 Field Hospital.

Within the Royal Military Police, 4 and 5 Regiments Royal Military Police disbanded in 2020 and the Special Operations Regiment was formed. The Special Investigations Branch Regiment was subsumed into the Defence Serious Crimes Unit[1] on its formation in 2023.

No Regiments within the Army’s Infantry, Intelligence Corps or Veterinary Corps have been disbanded or merged since 2010.

The Royal Marines is organised into Commando Units rather than Regiments and none have been disbanded since 2010.

British Army Regiments (2010-2023)

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

Total Regular

126

126

122

121

117

115

113

113

114

114

114

115

115

113

Total Reserve

73

73

73

72

67

69

69

69

67

67

67

67

67

63

Combat Forces

Infantry

Regular Regiments

17

17

17

17

17

17

17

17

17

17

17

18

18

18

Reserve Regiments

12

12

12

12

12

12

12

12

12

12

12

12

12

12

Royal Armoured Corps

Regular Army Regiments

12

12

12

12

11

10

10

10

10

10

10

10

10

10

Army Reserves Regiments

4

4

4

4

4

4

4

4

4

4

4

4

4

4

Army Air Corps

Regular Army Regiments

7

7

7

7

7

7

6

6

7

7

7

7

7

7

Army Reserves Regiments

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

Combat Support Forces

Royal Artillery

Regular Army Regiments

16

16

15

15

15

14

14

14

14

14

14

14

14

14

Army Reserves Regiments

7

7

7

7

6

6

6

6

6

6

6

6

6

6

Royal Engineers[2]

Regular Army Regiments

15

15

14

13

12

12

12

12

14

14

14

14

14

14

Hybrid Regiments (Reg & Res)

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Army Reserves Regiments

5

5

5

5

3

3

3

3

4

4

4

4

4

4

Royal Signals

Regular Army Regiments

12

12

11

11

11

12

12

12

12

12

13

13

13

13

Army Reserves Regiments

5

5

5

5

5

4

4

4

4

4

4

4

4

4

Intelligence Corps

Regular Army Regiments

3

3

3

3

4

4

4

4

4

4

4

4

4

4

Army Reserves Regiments

2

2

2

2

5

5

5

5

5

5

5

5

5

5

Royal Army Veterinary Corps

Regular Army Regiments

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

Army Reserve Regiments

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Combat Service Support

Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers[3][4]

Regular Army Battalions

8

8

8

9

9

8

8

8

8

8

8

8

9

9

Army Reserves Battalions

4

4

4

3

3

6

6

6

3

3

3

3

3

3

Royal Logistic Corps[5]

Regular Army Regiments

19

19

18

17

14

14

13

13

13

13

13

13

13

12

Army Reserves Regiments

17

17

17

17

12

12

12

12

12

12

12

12

12

12

Royal Army Medical Corps

Regular Army Regiments

11

11

11

11

11

11

11

11

9

9

9

9

8

8

Army Reserves Regiments

16

16

16

16

16

16

16

16

16

16

16

16

16

12

Royal Military Police

Regular Army Regiments

5

5

5

5

5

5

5

5

5

5

4

4

4

3

Army Reserves Regiments

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

[1] The Defence Serious Crimes Unit does not belong to the Army, it is part of the Defence Serious Crime Command (DSCC) within the Ministry of Defence.

[2] RE data for years 2010-2011 and 2014-2017 for Regulars, 2014-2018 for Reserves and additional hybrid regiments has changed since the original answer of 7 Feb.

[3] The Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) are organised at unit level into Battalions, rather than Regiments. This represents a distinction in naming convention rather than difference in workforce requirement or operational outputs.

[4] REME data for years 2013, 2015 and 2018 for the Reserves has changed since the original answer of 7 Feb.

[5] RLC data for years 2012-2015 for the Regulars has changed since the original answer of 7 Feb.

" ; parl:answeringMember ; parl:answeringMemberConstituency "Wells" ; parl:answeringMemberPrinted "James Heappey" ; parl:dateOfAnswer "2024-03-25"^^xsd:dateTime ; parl:isMinisterialCorrection false ; parl:questionFirstAnswered "2024-03-25T16:27:47.413Z"^^xsd:dateTime . rdfs:label "Biography information for Anthony Mangnall" . rdfs:label "Biography information for Stephen Crabb" . rdfs:label "Biography information for Stephen Morgan" . rdfs:label "Biography information for Steve Tuckwell" . parl:answerText "

I refer the Noble Lord to the below table which shows the number of Trade Trained Regular Army Personnel by Stationed Location, as of 1 January 2024.

Location

Personnel

England

59,920

Wales

1,350

Scotland

3,520

Northern Ireland

1,370

Overseas

3,010

Notes/Caveats:

  1. The figures are for the Trade Trained Regular Army only and therefore exclude Gurkhas, Full Time Reserve Service, Mobilised Reserves, Army Reserve and all other Reserves, but includes those personnel that have transferred from GURTAM to UKTAP.
  2. Figures include all Trade Trained Regular Army personnel, regardless of whether they are currently deployed on operation. This also includes personnel regardless of their Medical Deployability Status.
  3. Figures include both Officers and Soldiers.
  4. The figures are based on service personnel’s stationed location and not their area of residence – where personnel work isn’t necessarily where they live. Personnel deployed on operations to an area away from their stationed location are shown against their most recent stationed location.
  5. There are approximately 20 personnel with an unallocated location as recorded on the Joint Personnel Administration System (JPA).
  6. Figures have been rounded to 10 for presentational purposes; numbers ending in “5” have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias.
  7. Totals and sub-totals have been rounded separately and so may not appear to be a sum of their parts.

" ; parl:answeringMember ; parl:answeringMemberPrinted "The Earl of Minto" ; parl:dateOfAnswer "2024-04-03"^^xsd:dateTime ; parl:isMinisterialCorrection false ; parl:questionFirstAnswered "2024-04-03T13:04:36.32Z"^^xsd:dateTime . parl:answer ; parl:answeringDeptId "11" ; parl:answeringDeptPrinted "Ministry of Defence" ; parl:answeringDeptShortName "Defence" ; parl:answeringDeptSortName "Defence" ; parl:hansardHeading "Armed Forces" ; parl:houseId "1" ; parl:legislature ; parl:questionText "To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to evaluate (a) the UK's military readiness and (b) the adequacy of the volunteer force structure to deter potential aggression from state actors." ; parl:registeredInterest false ; parl:tablingMember ; parl:tablingMemberConstituency "Slough" ; parl:tablingMemberPrinted "Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi" ; parl:uin "19435" ; dcterms:date "2024-03-19"^^xsd:dateTime . parl:answerText "

The Defence Command Paper 2023 (DCP23) set out how the Armed Forces and wider Defence would modernise and adapt to the changing context.

Our Armed Forces are operating in an increasingly contested world and we are committed to ensuing our Armed Forces have the equipment to defend our nation and maintain strategic advantage. To deliver this, we have increased the budget for the Equipment Plan to £288.6 billion over the next decade. As outlined in the Defence Command Paper 23, we are focusing even more on Artificial Intelligence, digital capabilities, and assuring our supply chains, to make sure we adapt to changing technology and emerging threats.

" ; parl:answeringMember ; parl:answeringMemberConstituency "Wells" ; parl:answeringMemberPrinted "James Heappey" ; parl:dateOfAnswer "2024-03-21"^^xsd:dateTime ; parl:isMinisterialCorrection false ; parl:questionFirstAnswered "2024-03-21T15:58:14.463Z"^^xsd:dateTime . a api:ListEndpoint ; dcterms:hasPart ; api:definition . a api:Page ; "10"^^xsd:long ; "1"^^xsd:long ; "142"^^xsd:long ; dcterms:isPartOf ; api:definition ; api:extendedMetadataVersion ; api:items ( ) ; api:page "0"^^xsd:long ; ; .