Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is their projection of the upfront costs and additional annual costs, by comparison with the most recent year for which costs data are available, of proceeding with the merger of the Council of Reserve Forces' and Cadets' Association and the 13 Reserve Forces' and Cadets' Associations into a single executive, with a national office and a set of regional organisations.

The Ministry of Defence does not have a projection and comparison of the kind described. The 2019 Review of the Reserve Forces’ and Cadets’ Associations (RFCAs) recommended that the Council of RFCAs (CRFCA) and the 13 RFCAs should be merged into a single Executive Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB). The NDPB implementation work was paused due to it failing to obtain a legislative slot in the last Parliament; this work has now re-commenced.

The Review acknowledged that it would be difficult to calculate exact costs until the NDPB organisational design is finalised, and it also noted that it expected that any upfront investment in establishing the NDPB would be recouped in the medium-term through improved commercialisation of the Reserves and Cadets estate. It is expected that annual savings and efficiencies will be made by having a central co-ordinated body, rather than the current model with 13 RFCAs each undertaking very similar work and on occasions duplicating activity.