Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department plans to (a) review and (b) remove the upper age limit for entry into flying and other officer roles in the armed forces.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Department is assessing current policies and identifying those which obstruct individuals from joining the Armed Forces. It is essential that new entrants to the Armed Forces meet set requirements so that they are capable of successfully tackling the various challenges of Service life and the roles in which they will be expected to deploy. As part of this assessment, regulations concerning eligibility requirements, plus those supporting Armed Forces recruitment processes, will be revised and promulgated once finalised. I hope the Hon. Gentleman will understand that where policies are found to be reasonable they will be kept, and where changes are recommended, they will be enacted.