Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will take steps to ensure that his Department and its agencies remove all internal covid-19 related policies, restrictions and mask mandates.

Throughout the pandemic, the Ministry of Defence has aligned itself with the Government's COVID-19 policies in addition to managing the risks from communicable diseases and viruses as set out in Joint Service Publication 950 on Medical Policy. This has included complying with the Working Safely during Coronavirus (COVID-19): Guidance which sets out the key actions organisations should take to protect employees in order to reduce the risk of COVID-19 spreading in workplaces.

While COVID-19 regulations are being eased across England and much of the UK, certain risks from COVID-19 remain and consequently it will be appropriate to continue to monitor the situation and to maintain some public health, force protection and health and safety measures in certain settings. For instance, testing and isolation may continue in limited scenarios, such as to enable the operational deployment of personnel overseas. COVID-related measures will continue to be reviewed periodically and rationalised when it is safe to do so, whilst managing the risks to personnel and key Defence outputs.