Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North and Kimberley)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to improve BAME representation in ranks above Major in the Army.
Answered by Andrew Murrison
As set out in the published biannual diversity statistics, there are 70 people of ethnic minorities (excluding white minorities) of rank Lieutenant Colonel and above in the British Army, as at 1st April 2023: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/uk-armed-forces-biannual-diversity-statistics-april-2023
Diversity, inclusion and respect sit at the heart of the Army's values and ethos. The Army aims to recruit and retain a diversity of talent and thought, drawing from all sections of society.
The Army Race Action Plan which was published internally in April 2023 directs a number of actions to bring equity to career progression across all ranks and including personnel from ethnic minority backgrounds.
This includes improving representation at all levels, gaining better access to talent, progressing all talent based only upon merit, improving and professionalising organisational culture and improving lived experience, retention and opportunities.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North and Kimberley)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many BAME officers are above the rank of Major in the Army.
Answered by Andrew Murrison
As set out in the published biannual diversity statistics, there are 70 people of ethnic minorities (excluding white minorities) of rank Lieutenant Colonel and above in the British Army, as at 1st April 2023: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/uk-armed-forces-biannual-diversity-statistics-april-2023
Diversity, inclusion and respect sit at the heart of the Army's values and ethos. The Army aims to recruit and retain a diversity of talent and thought, drawing from all sections of society.
The Army Race Action Plan which was published internally in April 2023 directs a number of actions to bring equity to career progression across all ranks and including personnel from ethnic minority backgrounds.
This includes improving representation at all levels, gaining better access to talent, progressing all talent based only upon merit, improving and professionalising organisational culture and improving lived experience, retention and opportunities.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North and Kimberley)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of the extent of racism in the armed forces.
Answered by Andrew Murrison
The Armed Forces, and Defence as a whole, are committed to taking action to eradicate racism and have a zero-tolerance approach towards it. We are committed to solidifying racial equality as a fundamental principle in Defence, creating a more inclusive environment for all, enabling everyone, irrespective of background, to deliver our outputs, enhance our operational effectiveness and better represent the nation we serve. Our department-wide Diversity and Inclusion strategy, the Armed Forces Race Action Plan, and the Civil Service Race Action Plan clearly set out a challenging vision, goals, objectives, and commitments of where we want to see change.
We continue a wide programme of work to prevent and tackle unacceptable behaviour. All allegations of such behaviour are taken extremely seriously and investigated thoroughly. Service personnel have a number of routes to raise such issues, either with the military police, within the Chain of Command or independently with Diversity and Inclusion Advisers. Defence has mandated Active Bystander training so that personnel have the skills to challenge unacceptable behaviour effectively when it does occur.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North and Kimberley)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to tackle racism in the armed forces.
Answered by Andrew Murrison
The Armed Forces, and Defence as a whole, are committed to taking action to eradicate racism and have a zero-tolerance approach towards it. We are committed to solidifying racial equality as a fundamental principle in Defence, creating a more inclusive environment for all, enabling everyone, irrespective of background, to deliver our outputs, enhance our operational effectiveness and better represent the nation we serve. Our department-wide Diversity and Inclusion strategy, the Armed Forces Race Action Plan, and the Civil Service Race Action Plan clearly set out a challenging vision, goals, objectives, and commitments of where we want to see change.
We continue a wide programme of work to prevent and tackle unacceptable behaviour. All allegations of such behaviour are taken extremely seriously and investigated thoroughly. Service personnel have a number of routes to raise such issues, either with the military police, within the Chain of Command or independently with Diversity and Inclusion Advisers. Defence has mandated Active Bystander training so that personnel have the skills to challenge unacceptable behaviour effectively when it does occur.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North and Kimberley)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has set targets for the recruitment of (a) women and (b) ethnic minorities to the armed forces.
Answered by Andrew Murrison
The Armed Forces are committed to attracting, retaining and developing the best talent from the broadest diversity of skills and background, to reflect the society we serve.
A Level of Ambition of 30% inflow of women by 2030 was approved by the then Secretary of State and announced in 2021, building on the content of the previously published Defence Diversity and Inclusion Strategy 2018-2030. This is both "stretching and challenging" and a clear statement that Defence wants to improve, recognises the mission critical value women bring and is creating conversations and driving improvement activities.
At this time no equivalent Level of Ambition has been published for the inflow of ethnic minority recruits. However, Defence is undertaking a wide range of activities to increase their recruitment into the Armed Forces, through better understanding and greater engagement with ethnic minority communities, reviewing recruitment processes and more targeted marketing and communications towards potential ethnic minority applicants.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North and Kimberley)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has made an assessment of the impact of residency requirements for newly arrived British National Overseas visa holders who wish to join the armed forces.
Answered by Andrew Murrison
There are no UK residency requirements for immigration purposes including for British National (Overseas) citizens when applying to join the UK Armed Forces. However, the Armed Forces are subject to National Security Vetting rules for which there are UK residency requirements. These vary depending on the Service and role applied for. Any applicants who have lived outside the UK prior to their application may be limited as to which roles they can apply for, but every application is considered on a case-by-case basis and the required UK residency periods can be reduced.
Those British National (Overseas) citizens who join the UK Armed Forces are granted exempt from immigration control status by the Home Office for the duration of their Service. This allows them to come and go from the UK without restriction or the need for a visa. They can choose to apply for British Citizenship whilst serving or to apply for settled status in the UK on discharge (Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK or Indefinite Leave to Enter the UK). Those who meet the criteria which came into effect on 6 April 2022 are eligible for a fee waiver when applying for settled status.
British National (Overseas) citizens are also eligible to apply to join the Reserves if they meet all the necessary criteria and have settled status in the UK.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North and Kimberley)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of establishing a centre for democratic resilience within NATO HQ; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by James Heappey
NATO is a values based Alliance and should play an important role in promoting the rules based international order and defending its values. This is already reflected in the NATO 2030 agenda and will be in the next NATO Strategic Concept. It will be important to understand how such a centre would add value to existing initiatives in NATO and other fora which perform similar functions, such as the centres of excellence on hybrid and strategic communications.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North and Kimberley)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of sharing details of servicemen and servicewomen leaving the armed forces with veterans charities.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) ensures that when Regular Armed Forces personnel leave Service they are well supported to translate their acquired skills, experience and qualifications into their next career in civilian life. The skills Service Leavers possess are in demand from UK employers who recognise the benefits of bringing this talent into their organisations. The vast majority of Service Leavers make a smooth transition from military to civilian life and do not require the support of Third Sector Organisations (TSOs).
The Ministry of Defence has no plans to share the personal details of all Service Leavers with Third Sector Organisations (TSOs). Systematically sharing Service Leavers’ data with TSOs would be a breach of the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) and, even if done with consent, would present a very significant administrative burden to TSOs as around 15,000 Service personnel leave the Regular Armed Forces each year.
Service Leavers potentially requiring support are referred to the MOD’s Veterans Welfare Service (VWS) who can provide relevant signposting to TSO support. The VWS works collaboratively with a range of statutory and voluntary agencies on individual casework in supporting veterans. Referrals are routinely made to a range of organisations, including ex-Service charities, but only with the express consent of the individuals, with only the appropriate levels of information being provided within the referral, in line with GDPR policy.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North and Kimberley)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) armed forces widows and widowers and (b) war widows and war widowers have had their pensions reinstated following the removal of the means tested application process and other changes to widows’ pension rights since April 2015.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North and Kimberley)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress his Department has made on creating official ID cards for veterans.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The Veterans ID Card will be launched in December 2018 for Service Leavers and made available to Veterans in 2019.
The new ID card has two functions: to provide a memento of service and maintain a tangible link to the Armed Forces, and to ensure that public and charitable sector services and support can be provide where needed by Veterans as efficiently as possible.