Member

I will be candid about what I suspect is the real motive, although I invite the Minister to correct me if I am wrong. This is not at its heart about cadets and reservists; I suggest that it is more about the administrative convenience of the Civil Service, which institutionally does not like anything that seems irrationally messy, historic or not quite uniform. This may make life easier for officials in Whitehall, but it will make life much harder for the volunteers who, for well over a century, have made the reserve and cadet forces of this country work so well. It will also inevitably cost a lot more than currently expended.