"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.