Lord Sheikh asked Her Majesty’s Government:
- In light of the Secretary of State for Defence’s announcement in February that NATO has made a request for two manoeuvre reserve battlegroups, one of which the United Kingdom is providing, what progress has been made in discussions with NATO allies about providing the second battlegroup. [HL5098]
The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence & Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (Lord Drayson): The NATO-led ISAF mission in Afghanistan currently consists of approximately 36,000 troops. The UK announced an increased deployment to Afghanistan in February in response to a NATO request for additional forces. We continue to work with other partners to encourage effective contributions to the international commitment to Afghanistan. Since February, several allies have increased the size of their deployments in the country and NATO Force Generation efforts continue, although the battlegroup referred to has still to be found.