Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether any civil servants hired by his Department were recruited over another person on the basis of a protected characteristic in each of the last three years.

The Ministry of Defence does not recruit candidates on the basis of protected characteristics. All appointments are made on merit, in line with the Civil Service Commission's Recruitment Principles. Compliance with these principles is overseen by the independent Civil Service Commission. Civil Service recruitment is governed by the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010, which requires that all appointments to the Civil Service are made on merit on the basis of fair and open competition.