Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many complaints about inappropriate sexual behaviour at the Army Foundation College were made between 1 January 2018 and 30 June 2025; and of those complaints, how many were made against (1) staff, and (2) junior soldiers.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
There are 176 records on the Joint Personnel Administration (JPA) system of sexual allegations reported between 1 January 2018 and 30 June 2025 where the unit of the accused was Army Foundation College Harrogate. 32 of those allegations were against Permanent Staff and 144 were against Junior Soldiers.
To note regarding the figures provided:
They may include more than one entry per allegation where, for example, a Court Martial has been followed by Major Administrative Action.
The term ‘inappropriate sexual behaviour’ is not a category on JPA, therefore the figures above include all sexual allegations (regardless of outcome).
Recorded cases may include incidents that occurred outside of the Military which are investigated by the civilian police.
These are single Service estimates based on data which is not gathered for statistical purposes or subject to the same level of scrutiny as official statistics produced by Defence Statistics.
The figures may be subject to data quality issues affecting their accuracy. As JPA is a live system the data can be subject to change due to retrospective reporting and data correction.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether any provisions of the Children’s Wellbeing Bill and Schools Bill will apply to the Ministry of Defence as an employer and educator.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) supports this Bill as we are aware of the unique challenges our personnel and their families face. While much of this Bill will not apply to schools overseas run by the MOD, we will support aspects that impact our work, primarily around safeguarding. As part of our commitment to our Service families we take the safeguarding of children particularly seriously, and we have a strong social-work service and well-trained teams supporting each branch of the military wherever they are posted, including overseas. Our teams also work very closely with the Department for Education and Devolved Administrations to ensure Service children’s wellbeing and education is supported.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what was the outcome of Project ATHENA 2, which was due to take place between 2022 and 2023, at the Army Foundation College in Harrogate; and whether they will place a copy of the results of the project in the Library of the House.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
It will take time to collate and review the information needed to answer the noble Lady's question. I will write to her shortly and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many junior soldiers residing at the Army Foundation College in Harrogate who entered in September 2024 were care leavers.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
There are 39 Junior Soldiers registered as care leavers from the September 2024 intake.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they collect data on the reading ages of new army recruits under the age of 18; and if so, what those data indicate.
Answered by Earl of Minto - Shadow Minister (Defence)
The Army does not collect data and centrally record the reading ages of all new Army recruits under the age of 18.
It does collect the scores of the ‘Functional Skills Literacy Assessment’ which show the following for all under-18 recruits in Recruiting Year 2022-23:[1]
FS Score | Percentage of U18 recruits 2022-23 |
Entry Level 2 | 8% |
Entry Level 3 | 27% |
Exempt | 27% |
Level 1 | 25% |
Level 2 | 13% |
These Functional Skills levels are based on the 2011 Skills for Life Survey: A
Survey of Literacy, Numeracy and ICT Levels in England: 2011 Skills for Life Survey: A Survey of Literacy, Numeracy and ICT Levels in England (publishing.service.gov.uk).
The majority of under-18 recruits complete Basic Training at the Army Foundation College (Harrogate) where 100% leave with a GCSE equivalent in English.
[1] Recruiting year runs from April - March
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government when the British Army most recently evaluated the feasibility of a transition to all-adult recruitment; and what the findings of any such evaluation were.
Answered by Earl of Minto - Shadow Minister (Defence)
The last evaluation specifically focussed on transitioning to all-adult recruitment was the 2019 Junior Entry Review whereby the two non-enlistment options for under-18s were rejected, due to expected negative implications on the Army's overall strength and operational effectiveness. A more recent evaluation has been conducted exploring bespoke Terms of Service for under-18s.
British Army Terms of Service are routinely reviewed to ensure best practice and operational effectiveness.