The Petition of residents of Teesside and North Yorkshire,
Declares that the 2nd Battalion, The Yorkshire Regiment (Green Howards), who served this country loyally since 1688, is both a symbol of and major employer in both Teesside and North Yorkshire.
The Petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Secretary of State for Defence to safeguard the jobs of the battalion’s soldiers, and that it further urges the Secretary of State to protect the battalion's name, badge and proud heritage.
And the Petitioners remain, etc.—[Presented by Tom Blenkinsop, Official Report, 24 October 2012; Vol. 551, c. 1036.]
[P001126]
Observations from the Secretary of State for Defence:
The Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) set out a plan to reduce the overall size of the Armed Forces. This will reshape the Armed Forces for “Future Force 2020” while also addressing this country’s financial deficit, which this Government inherited from the last. The Government would prefer not to have to make these reductions in the Armed Forces but a strong economy is a National Security imperative. It is fully understood that the decisions made have significant repercussions for the individuals concerned.
Reducing the size of the regular Army has required some units to be withdrawn from the Army Order of Battle or amalgamated. Against this requirement, following detailed work and very careful consideration, it was decided to remove the 2nd Battalion the Yorkshire Regiment (The Green Howards) from the Army Order of Battle and absorb them into the rest of the Yorkshire Regiment.
The Army took account of a number of criteria in reaching their decision about which battalions should be withdrawn. These were: maintaining a regimental system which is largely regionally aligned; demographic sustainability of regiments according to projected regional supply of recruits in the 2020 timeframe; proportionality of outcome, with no cap badge deletions and no regiment losing more than one battalion in a re-organisation; balancing the whole infantry structure to maintain variety of roles and parity of opportunity of experience for officers and soldiers; taking account of previous decisions on mergers and deletions; historical manning performance; and ensuring a solution that the Army would see as fair and equitable.
The importance of the affiliations, traditions and history of the 2nd Battalion the Yorkshire Regiment to Teesside and North Yorkshire is not underestimated, along with the importance placed on these by all those with connections to the battalion. It is a matter for the Yorkshire Regiment to determine how to keep the history and traditions alive for future generations.
While the Army recognises the disappointment that will be felt by those personnel currently serving with the 2nd Battalion, The Yorkshire Regiment, their families and veterans, these changes have been carefully structured to minimise the impact of the regular manpower reduction and to maximise the effectiveness of the Army. The future structure that has been announced has been designed by the Army to deliver military capability balanced against very challenging fiscal constraints.
The Secretary of State has said that those serving in units that are being withdrawn are no more or less likely than anyone else with similar skills and service record to be selected for redundancy. Clearly, however, as the Army reduces in size these reductions will be based on the future structure of the Army, and focused on where there are excesses of strength. It is therefore inevitable that as Infantry Battalions are amalgamated there will be an excess of infantry personnel. However, selection criteria will not include an individual's current unit or location.
The contribution to the defence of the United Kingdom made by all of the personnel affected by this decision, both past and present, is fully recognised and valued.