Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans he has to change the military Brigade structure throughout the UK; and what effect changes to the military Brigade structure would have on the 38 (Irish) Brigade in Northern Ireland.

The Army is in the process of refining its structures to optimise delivery of the outputs required by Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, including the ability to deploy a modern, warfighting Division. This process is called Army 2020 Refine (A2020) and more detail was provided in the statement by the then Secretary of State for Defence on 15 December 2016 [HCWS367], and the answer I gave on 11 December 2017 to Question 117878.

A2020(R) is also reviewing how the Army's light infantry units are structured within 1st (UK) Division to ensure they are optimised to deliver the outputs required. This could see a change in the current attribution of combat units to Brigades, including 38 (Irish) Brigade, but will have no impact on the Army's footprint in Northern Ireland. No decisions have been considered by Ministers at this point.