News Release

22nd January 2002

THE FUTURE OF WHITTINGTON BARRACKS

"The future of Army bases in the UK are under constant review", says Michael Fabricant "so every few years I like to check the status of our barracks at Whittington. There has been talk in the past of 'rationalising' as a 'benefit from the end of the cold war'. In practice, that would mean selling the land off for housing which I would oppose. I am relieved that there are currently no plans for major change as the Parliamentary Written Answer which appears on the House of Commons Order Paper today shows". (The Rt Hon Adam Ingram MP is Minister of State at the Ministry of Defence.)

Army Training Regiment Bases

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the future of Army Training Regiment bases in (a) England, (b) Scotland and (c) Northern Ireland.

Mr. Ingram: There are currently five Army Training Regiments (ATRs) in England and Scotland; there are none in Northern Ireland although Depot Royal Irish conducts initial training for the Royal Irish Regiment and of very small numbers for other Irish Regiments. It is planned to transfer the training functions from the Glencorse site in Scotland to the School of Infantry at Catterick in north Yorkshire. There will be changes to the way in which training is conducted at the remaining four sites--Bassingbourn in Cambridgeshire, Pirbright in Surrey, Winchester in Hampshire and Lichfield in Staffordshire. ATR Bassingbourn will concentrate on junior entry training, and the others will conduct non-infantry adult entry training. These changes will take place during the course of this year.

Whittington Barracks

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what plans he has to move the Army Training Regiment from the Whittington barracks near Lichfield; and (2) what plans he has to sell land occupied by the Whittington barracks near Lichfield.

Mr. Ingram: The Ministry of Defence has no plans to either move the Army Training Regiment from Whittington barracks, near Lichfield, or to sell the land occupied by the barracks.