Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 9 January 2019 to Question 205364 on Army: Recruitment, when he plans to place a copy of the Capita brief in the Library.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
A copy of the brief has been placed in the Library of the House, with a small number of redactions for commercial reasons. I attach a copy to this response for your convenience.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has made an assessment of whether military training activities constitute hazardous work as defined in Article 3(d) of ILO Convention 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour and its accompanying Recommendation 1902.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The Ministry of Defence's Management of Health and Safety Regulations requires special attention to identifying and controlling health and safety risks to young persons in the workplace. Many of these are covered by existing risk assessment and control measures, but the employing branch will identify any additional control measures/changes required in accordance with the normal risk assessment process.
All Armed Forces personnel are trained for a wide range of operational tasks and environments, including combat. Established procedures are in place to ensure that Service personnel under the age of 18 are not deployed on operations. Our policies on under 18s in Service are robust and comply with national and international law.
Commanding Officers take their responsibilities towards their personnel extremely seriously. Commanding Officers pay close attention to the needs of under 18s as they pass from recruitment through Phase 1 and Phase 2 training, to operational units.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which activities undertaken by under-18s in the armed forces constitutes hazardous work as defined under Article 3 (d) of ILO Convention 182 and its accompanying Recommendation 190.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The Ministry of Defence's Management of Health and Safety Regulations requires special attention to identifying and controlling health and safety risks to young persons in the workplace. Many of these are covered by existing risk assessment and control measures, but the employing branch will identify any additional control measures/changes required in accordance with the normal risk assessment process.
All Armed Forces personnel are trained for a wide range of operational tasks and environments, including combat. Established procedures are in place to ensure that Service personnel under the age of 18 are not deployed on operations. Our policies on under 18s in Service are robust and comply with national and international law.
Commanding Officers take their responsibilities towards their personnel extremely seriously. Commanding Officers pay close attention to the needs of under 18s as they pass from recruitment through Phase 1 and Phase 2 training, to operational units.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will place in the Library a copy of the Capita brief provided to the advertising agency commissioned to produce the Your Army Needs You advertising campaign launched in January 2019.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
Some sections of the requested Capita brief may require redaction due to commercial sensitivity. I will seek to place a copy in the Library of the House as soon as practicable, once it has been reviewed by Ministry of Defence officials.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer on 15 November 2018 to Question 190538 on Army: Young People, what estimate he has made of the number of people over 18 years of age that applied to join the army in the financial years (a) 2013-14, (b) 2014-15, (c) 2015-16, (d) 2016-17 and (e) 2017-18; and how many of those people have since started army training.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
The information requested will take time to collate and I will write to the hon. Member when it is available.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 15 November 2018 to Question 190538 on Army: Young People, how many of those people who started basic training (a) completed basic training, (b) qualified, (c) dropped out before completing training and (d) qualified but have since left the armed forces.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
The number of those recruits that did not complete basic training, those that completed basic training and those that completed basic training who have subsequently left the Army are detailed in the table below.
FY Applied | U18 Applicants who started Basic Training | Of Which: Did not complete Basic Training | Of which: Completed Basic Training | Of which: Subsequently left the Army after completing Basic Training |
2013-14 | 2,790 | 650 | 2,100 | 480 |
2014-15 | 3,000 | 660 | 2,270 | 340 |
2016-17 | 2,350 | 400 | 1,720 | 60 |
Figures are for Regular soldiers who were under the age of 18 at the time of their application. Some will have commenced basic training in subsequent years and will have turned 18 before starting.
Figures are single Service estimates and are not official statistics produced by Defence Statistics.
They have been rounded to 10 for presentational purposes; numbers ending in "5" have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many army recruits have enlisted from each parliamentary constituency since 2013; and how many of those recruits from each constituency were aged under 18.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
The information requested is set out in the attached table. Figures represent Regular and FR20 Reserve recruits (officers and other ranks) by parliamentary constituency, including those aged under 18 at the time of recruitment, between Apr 13 and Apr 18. Under 18 figures apply to Regular enlistments only, as the minimum age a potential reservist can initiate the recruitment process is 17 years and 9 months. Data is based on their recorded contact address.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what Ofqual-accredited qualifications are offered at the Army Foundation College; and how many recruits achieved each type of qualification in the most recent full year for which figures are available.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
The Army Foundation College delivers functional skills qualifications in Maths, English and Information Communication Technology (ICT) at Level 1 and Level 2, through either City & Guilds or EDEXCEL.
Additionally, dependent upon educational attainment on arrival at the Army Foundation College, some junior soldiers will complete an accredited Pearson BTEC Level 3 Certificate in Public Services.
The educational attainment of junior soldiers who graduated in 2018 are shown in the table below. This will include qualifications gained by junior soldiers before attendance at Army Foundation College.
Year | Total | English | Maths | ICT | BTEC | |||
Graduates | L1 | L2 | L1 | L2 | L1 | L2 | L3 | |
2018 | 1,100 | 1,090 | 940 | 1,030 | 790 | 940 | 760 | 200 |
Source: Army Foundation College (Harrogate)
Notes:
These figures are single service estimates and are not official statistics produced by Defence Statistics.
Figures have been rounded to 10 to limit disclosure and ensure confidentiality; numbers ending in "5" have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 15 November 2018 to Question 190539 on Army: Young People, for what were the reasons for under-18s applicants not starting basic training in each of the three years for which information is provided.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
The reasons why a number of under 18 applicants do not progress to commence basic training are similar to applicants of all ages. These include the applicant's personal choice, which can be driven by a range of factors such as personal circumstances and alternative employment opportunities, and applicants not meeting the Army's entry criteria, for example medical and educational standards and nationality requirements.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the number of people under 18 years of age that applied to join the army in the financial year 2016-17; and how many of those people have since started army training.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
The number of people under 18 years old who applied to join the Army in financial years 2014-15, 2016-17 and 2017-18 and who have since started basic training before 1 October 2018 are detailed in the table below.
Financial Year | U18 Applications | Of which started basic training |
2013-2014 | 14,050 | 2,790 |
2014-2015 | 17,120 | 3,000 |
2016-2017 | 20,370 | 2,350 |
Figures are for Regular soldiers who were under the age of 18 at the time of their application. Some will have turned 18 before starting basic training.
Some of the applicants above will still be in the process of joining the Army.
Please note that these figures are single Service estimates and are not official statistics produced by Defence Statistics. They have been rounded to the nearest 10.