Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make it his policy to mandate individual risk assessments for all employees in his Department before they return to the workplace following the easing of covid-19 restrictions; and how many individual risk assessments for people returning to work have been conducted by his Department as of 21 February 2022.

Defence will continue to follow relevant guidance including that set out in the UK Government's Living with COVID Strategy and related plans across the UK. Risk assessments are mandatory for all Defence workplaces and have continued to be used to manage COVID-related risks throughout the pandemic.

As COVID restrictions ease, managers will continue to maintain and update risk assessments to ensure a safe and healthy workplace. These arrangements have been developed in consultation with, and agreed by, the relevant trade unions. All risk assessments are undertaken locally and retained for three years, but these are not recorded or held centrally.