Defence written statement – made at on 15 July 2009.
Bob Ainsworth
The Secretary of State for Defence
My right hon. Friend Mr. Hutton, announced in his statement to the House on
The next routine roulement of UK forces in Afghanistan will take place in October 2009. The force package that we plan to deploy will see the current lead brigade, 19 Light Brigade, replaced by 11 Light Brigade which will be committed to Afghanistan until April 2010.
The forces deploying include:
| Headquarters, 6 (UK) Division |
| 11 Light Brigade Headquarters and Signal Squadron (261) |
| Headquarters, 8 Force Engineer Brigade |
| Headquarters, 101 Logistic Brigade |
| Elements of 845 Naval Air Squadron |
| Elements of 846 Naval Air Squadron |
| Elements of 857 Naval Air Squadron |
| Elements of Fleet Diving Unit III |
| The Household Cavalry Regiment |
| 1st Regiment Royal Horse Artillery |
| 28 Engineer Regiment |
| 1st Battalion The Grenadier Guards |
| 2nd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment |
| 1st Battalion The Royal Welsh |
| 3rd Battalion The Rifles |
| 10 Queen's Own Ghurkha Logistic Regiment, The Royal Logistic Corps |
| 33 Field Hospital |
| 104 Force Support Battalion Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers |
| 160 Provost Company Royal Military Police |
| Elements of 1 st Royal Tank Regiment |
| Elements of 2nd Royal Tank Regiment |
| Elements of 5th Regiment Royal Artillery |
| Elements of 12th Regiment Royal Artillery |
| Elements of 16th Regiment Royal Artillery |
| Elements of 19th Regiment Royal Artillery |
| Elements of 32nd Regiment Royal Artillery |
| Elements of 39th Regiment Royal Artillery |
| Elements of 33 Engineer Regiment (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) |
| Elements of 39 Engineer Regiment (Air Support) |
| Elements of 42 Engineer Regiment (Geographic) |
| Elements of 101 Engineer Regiment (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) (Volunteers) |
| Elements of 170 (Infrastructure Support) Engineer Group |
| Elements of 2 (National Communications) Signal Brigade |
| Elements of 1st (United Kingdom) Armoured Division Headquarters & Signal Regiment |
| Elements of 7th Signal Regiment |
| Elements of 10th Signal Regiment |
| Elements of 14th Signals Regiment (Electronic Warfare) |
| Elements of 21st Signal Regiment (Air Support) |
| Elements of 1st Battalion The Coldstream Guards |
| Elements of The Royal Scots Borderers, 1st Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland |
| Elements of 4th Battalion The Lancashire Regiment |
| Elements of 4th Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment |
| Elements of 2nd Battalion The Royal Welsh |
| Elements of 3rd Battalion The Royal Welsh |
| Elements of 3rd Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment |
| Elements of 4th Battalion The Rifles |
| Elements of 1 Regiment, Army Air Corps |
| Elements of 3 Regiment, Army Air Corps |
| Elements of 4 Regiment, Army Air Corps |
| Elements of 9 Regiment, Army Air Corps |
| Elements of 9 Regiment, The Royal Logistic Corps |
| Elements of 11 Explosive Ordnance Disposal Regiment, The Royal Logistic Corps |
| Elements of 24 Postal Courier and Movement Regiment, The Royal Logistic Corps |
| Elements of 27 Regiment, The Royal Logistic Corps |
| Elements of 29 Postal Courier and Movement Regiment, The Royal Logistic Corps |
| Elements of Headquarters Allied Rapid Reaction Corps Support Battalion |
| Elements of 6 Close Support Battalion Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers |
| Elements of 7 Air Assault Battalion Royal Electrical Mechanical Engineers |
| Elements of 102 Military Working Dog Support Unit |
| Elements of 1 Military Intelligence Brigade |
| Elements of the Joint Civil Military Co-operation Group (CIMIC) |
| Elements of 148 Expeditionary Force Institute Squadron (Volunteers), The Royal Logistic Corps |
| Elements of Joint Medical Command |
| Elements of 253 Medical Regiment (Volunteers) |
| Elements of 254 Medical Regiment (Volunteers) |
| Elements of 205 Field Hospital (Volunteers) |
| Elements of 256 Field Hospital (Volunteers) |
| Number 1 Royal Air Force, Force Protection Wing Headquarters |
| Number 2 Royal Air Force, Force Protection Wing Headquarters |
| Number 3 Royal Air Force, Force Protection Wing Headquarters |
| Number 8 Royal Air Force, Force Protection Wing Headquarters |
| Elements of Number 3 Royal Air Force Police Wing |
| 2 Squadron, Royal Air Force Regiment |
| 27 Squadron, Royal Air Force Regiment |
| Elements of 3 Squadron, Royal Air Force Regiment |
| Elements of 34 Squadron, Royal Air Force Regiment |
| 9 Squadron, Royal Air Force |
| 31 Squadron, Royal Air Force |
| Elements of 5 (Army Co-Operation) Squadron, Royal Air Force |
| Elements of 12 Squadron, Royal Air Force |
| Elements of 14 Squadron, Royal Air Force |
| Elements of 18 Squadron, Royal Air Force |
| Elements of 24 Squadron, Royal Air Force |
| Elements of 27 Squadron, Royal Air Force |
| Elements of 28 Squadron, Royal Air Force |
| Elements of 30 Squadron, Royal Air Force |
| Elements of 78 Squadron, Royal Air Force |
| Elements of 617 Squadron, Royal Air Force |
| Elements of the Tactical Supply Wing, Royal Air Force |
| Elements of 1 Air Mobility Wing, Royal Air Force |
| Elements of 1 Air Control Centre, Royal Air Force |
| Elements of 90 Signals Unit, Royal Air Force |
| Elements of 2 (Mechanical Transport) Squadron, Royal Air Force |
| Elements of 5001 Squadron, Royal Air Force |
| Elements of 3 Mobile Catering Squadron |
| Elements of Tactical Medical Wing |
| Elements of 93 (Expeditionary Armaments) Squadron |
| Elements of Tactical Imagery Wing |
Volunteer and regular members of the reserve forces will continue to deploy to Afghanistan as part of our integrated force package, and we expect to issue around 710 call-out notices to fill some 650 posts. On completion of their mobilisation procedures, the reservists will undertake a period of training and, where applicable, integration with their respective receiving units. The Majority will serve on operations for six or so months. As part of this commitment, we expect up to 21 members of the sponsored reserves to be in theatre at any one time.
I shall make a further statement on the units we expect to commit under 11 Light Brigade's planned replacement formation, 4 Mechanized Brigade, nearer the time of their deployment.
The term "majority" is used in two ways in Parliament. Firstly a Government cannot operate effectively unless it can command a majority in the House of Commons - a majority means winning more than 50% of the votes in a division. Should a Government fail to hold the confidence of the House, it has to hold a General Election. Secondly the term can also be used in an election, where it refers to the margin which the candidate with the most votes has over the candidate coming second. To win a seat a candidate need only have a majority of 1.
The House of Commons votes by dividing. Those voting Aye (yes) to any proposition walk through the division lobby to the right of the Speaker and those voting no through the lobby to the left. In each of the lobbies there are desks occupied by Clerks who tick Members' names off division lists as they pass through. Then at the exit doors the Members are counted by two Members acting as tellers. The Speaker calls for a vote by announcing "Clear the Lobbies". In the House of Lords "Clear the Bar" is called. Division Bells ring throughout the building and the police direct all Strangers to leave the vicinity of the Members’ Lobby. They also walk through the public rooms of the House shouting "division". MPs have eight minutes to get to the Division Lobby before the doors are closed. Members make their way to the Chamber, where Whips are on hand to remind the uncertain which way, if any, their party is voting. Meanwhile the Clerks who will take the names of those voting have taken their place at the high tables with the alphabetical lists of MPs' names on which ticks are made to record the vote. When the tellers are ready the counting process begins - the recording of names by the Clerk and the counting of heads by the tellers. When both lobbies have been counted and the figures entered on a card this is given to the Speaker who reads the figures and announces "So the Ayes [or Noes] have it". In the House of Lords the process is the same except that the Lobbies are called the Contents Lobby and the Not Contents Lobby. Unlike many other legislatures, the House of Commons and the House of Lords have not adopted a mechanical or electronic means of voting. This was considered in 1998 but rejected. Divisions rarely take less than ten minutes and those where most Members are voting usually take about fifteen. Further information can be obtained from factsheet P9 at the UK Parliament site.
