Alan Reid, Liberal Democrat MP for Argyll & Bute, has welcomed the Government climbdown on Territorial Army (TA) training.
 
Earlier this month, the Government had announced the suspension of TA weekend exercises and other training for the next six months in a bid to save money. Alan Reid had written to Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth MP urging him to re-consider this decision.
 
Yesterday the Government announced that all TA personnel will receive at least one training night per month in the current financial year.
 
Following the climbdown, Alan Reid said,
 
“I welcome this climbdown, one night a month’s training is better than nothing, but it is still not enough. Of all the possible ways of trying to plug the gap in the Defence budget, cutting TA training must surely be the worst possible candidate. An increasing burden has been put on the TA in recent years. Its efforts and the skills it brings from civilian life, have contributed greatly to the operation in Afghanistan. I hope the Government will have another re-think and pay for our TA soldiers to benefit from the same number of exercises and training courses as in previous years.”