To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his Command Paper, Defence in a competitive age, published in March 2021, whether it remains his policy to reduce the armed forces to 72,500 by 2025.
Answered on
12 July 2022
There are currently no plans to reverse the decision to reduce the number of regular Army personnel to 73,000 by 2025.
The Integrated Review and Defence Command Paper made clear that we must focus on Defence capability rather than troop numbers in response to changing threats and priorities. The British Army will be more integrated and active, with a whole force of over 100,000 regulars and reservists, to address the current and future threats from across the globe.
Answered by
Ministry of Defence
Named day
Named day questions only occur in the House of Commons. The MP tabling the question specifies the date on which they should receive an answer. MPs may not table more than five named day questions on a single day.