An official has admitted that a number of potential Army reserve recruits dropped out of trying to join up because applications were delayed, according to a report in the Daily Telegraph. 

Julian Brazier, minister for reserves, told the paper that there had been a “very considerable glitch” in the recruitment pipeline but that this had now been fixed and joining-up figures had increased again.

He said: “We’ve taken a number of steps to solve it. The fact that people can now be enlisted if their medical documents haven’t caught up, the fact that people can be enlisted pending their security checks once they’ve done the initial interview. 

“We’ve very considerably increased capacity at the assessment centres so people aren’t caught waiting for places.” 

It was also reported that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) is trying to overhaul the Army reserve and expand its ranks from 19,000 to 30,000 by 2018. This comes at a time when the number of regular soldiers is cut by 20,000.  

According to the Daily Telegraph the government said it is still on track to hit its target. The MoD has also increased the maximum age for former regulars wanting to join the reserves from 43 to 52. 

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