Member

The right hon. Member for South West Wiltshire (Dr Murrison), with his extensive experience, highlighted that the Bill increases the recall age of reserves to 65 years. Although it should not be a surprise, I remind him that there is an opt-in for those who have already left the armed forces and an opt-out for those who are serving. The option is definitely there, but he is right that we need to put in place mechanisms for tracking and involving reserves, and to change the culture around how we treat our strategic reserve.