Conclusion 2) that serious consideration should be given to the effect on morale of the Services and on our defence commitments before making further short- term cuts while the Review decisions are being implemented; and it attaches importance to the need to adjust the defence programme to match commitments in a deliberate way over a period of time. This was the approach adopted in the Defence Review. Where economic circumstances change in a way which requires reductions in public expenditure, to which defence expenditure must contribute, as announced by the Chancellor on 15th April, the Government accepts the importance of taking into account the effect both on the morale of the Services and on the UK's defence commitments in determining the defence share of the cuts.
Operational Consequences
12. The Government notes the Sub-Committee's reservations about the effects of the Defence Review reductions on the flanks of NATO (Conclusion 7). How- ever, as the Statement on the Defence Estimates 1975 (Cmnd 5976) makes clear, some reduction in our current NATO contribution was inevitable. And decisions had therefore to be made about the areas in which our defence contribution to the Alliance could be most effectively concentrated. The Statement sets out clearly which priority areas were chosen and the reasons for choosing them and also explains the limitations inherent in the specialised reinforcement forces which we had committed to NATO in 1968. It explains that against this back- ground we reached the decision that our ability to reinforce on the Southern Flank was less cost-effective than in other areas.
13. The Statement also explains that, while there will be substantial reductions in our specialised reinforcement forces, we shall maintain our contribution to the Allied Command Europe Mobile Force which is available for deployment to any region of Allied Command Europe. In addition we shall have the ability to deploy an airportable formation equivalent to a reinforced brigade group with appropriate logistic and other support to the Central and Northern regions of Allied Command Europe. Of the three Royal Marines Commando Groups which we shall be retaining, one will continue to be specially trained and equipped for mountain and arctic warfare and will be available all the year round for deployment to Northern Norway.
14. Moreover as the Statement on the Defence Estimates indicates, our NATO Allies did, in the course of our consultations with them, ask us to reconsider those features of our reductions which they considered most damag- ing and to study the possibility of undertaking certain compensatory measures. The Government has undertaken to do this on the clear understanding that all of Britain's defence commitments and capabilities must be met from within the total of resources allocated to defence. The Statement lists the changes which the Government is prepared to make in the details of its original proposals on this basis. Two of them are directly related to Allied concerns about the Southern Flank, namely the agreement to participate, as part of national deployments, in periodic NATO maritime exercises and in the NATO Naval On-Call Force in the Mediterranean, and to continue reinforcement options for the Special Air Service Regiment in the Southern Region of ACE. The Statement also refers to the Government's readiness to study, on the same basis and without
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