Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to ensure soldiers back from deployment are given support to re-integrate into civilian life.

The Ministry of Defence ensures that when Armed Forces personnel leave active service they are well supported to translate their acquired skills, experience and qualifications into the second career they aspire to in civilian life. The skills Service leavers possess are in demand from UK employers who recognise the benefits of bringing this talent into their organisation.

To support this transition the Ministry of Defence has a robust and effective resettlement system in place which utilises the highly successful Career Transition Partnership (CTP). Of the Service personnel who left the UK Armed Forces in 2016/17 and used a billable CTP service, 82% were employed up to six months after leaving Service. The employment rate for Service leavers was higher than the 2016 employment rate for the UK population, at 75%.