City MP Mark Lancaster has this week called on the Government to stop dithering and make its mind up over funding for the TA following an exchange in the House of Commons. The call comes as just one month before the new training year, many TA units still have no idea how much training they will be allowed to carry out despite promises last year of a speedy decision.



Mr Lancaster, a serving Major in the TA himself successfully campaigned last November to overturn a Government decision to cut all TA training said;



“We all know the Defence budget is tight but the Government needs to keep to its word and make a decision. All Volunteers ask in return for their commitment is the ability to carry out basic training and the Government’s dithering simply isn’t fair.”



“We are all very proud of our local Rifles TA Unit at Blakelands but frankly they deserve better than to be messed around by Government in this way.”



ENDS





Exchange in Full:

Mr. Lancaster: I remind the House of my interest. Just one month before the start of the new training year, OTCs and Territorial Army units are yet to have next year's training budget confirmed. That forms a major problem for the commanding officers of those units, and it is a problem that the Armed Forces Minister recognised on 26 October, when he said that

"it is incumbent on us in the Ministry of Defence to reach conclusions on the budget for 2010 as quickly as possible".-[ Official Report, 26 October 2009; Vol. 498, c. 140.]

Four months on, we still do not know, so will the Minister simply confirm that all budgets will be in place before 1 April?

Mr. Jones: The reductions in university OTCs-on training, for example-were made on the recommendation of the head of the Army in order to make in-year savings. I accept that they have caused some problems for individual units. We reinstated the moneys for the trainers, but decisions on this year's budget are ongoing within the MOD and will be announced in due course.