Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to recruit new soldiers into the armed forces.

The Army recruits through a diverse and wide range of methods and is taking steps to improve its recruitment processes. Applications to the Army are received through the Army website.

In January 2018 we launched the second phase of the 'This is Belonging' marketing campaign. This is a continuation of last year's successful campaign and focuses on reaching out to a broader community of young talent, in addition to those traditionally attracted to an Army career. It is active on television, radio, cinema and a variety of social media outlets. In addition, the Army advertises for specialist staff through online job advertising boards.

The Army continues to work closely with their recruiting partner, Capita, on an improvement plan which aims to increase the conversion rate of applicants into recruits and shorten the time it takes to join the Army. To support recruitment operations, we also launched the new Defence Recruiting System in November 2017, to replace the former 20 year old IT system. While there have been some transition issues with the new system it will enable a quicker and easier recruitment process for applicants and the Armed Forces.

This is all supported by extensive Army regional engagement to promote awareness across society of the role of the Army and the career opportunities that it presents. The Army is Britain's biggest provider of apprenticeships, offering not just a job, but a career with ongoing training and qualifications.

The Army also seek to attract recruits from across the UK, and continues to work hard at recruiting a diverse work force. It has made addressing issues of equality, diversity and inclusivity a priority in order to ensure that it is a modern employer which is capable of recruiting talent from all elements of society. The lifting of the exclusion for women serving in Ground Close Combat roles highlights the commitment to offering maximum opportunity for all.