Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the letter placed in the Library from the hon. Member for Plymouth, Moor View and pursuant to the Answer of 15 January 2021 to Question 133121, whether his Department has made an assessment of whether infection control technologies that protect people with beards in a clinical setting could be further developed to offer effective respirator protection in a defence setting.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) invested over £80 million in the acquisition of the current General Service Respirator. This included analysis of contributing factors including the ability of a solution that provides protection for individuals with facial hair.

Additionally, MOD conducts research to develop and assess Respiratory Protective Equipment. This includes the assessment of respiratory solutions that may provide suitable levels of protection to individuals with facial hair. This research investment is approximately £0.2 million per annum. The Department continues to monitor developments to identify any credible future opportunities and this work is planned to continue at least until the development of the next generation of military-grade respiratory protection is initiated.

Respiratory protection systems designed for clinical settings are optimised for that environment, but there are limited similarities to the demands emanating from a generalist military setting. As previously highlighted, military respiratory protection must encompass individual and operational considerations to offer optimised levels of protection against a broad spectrum of threats, including beyond those encountered in a clinical setting. This is achieved in conjunction with addressing challenging technical requirements that may not be seen outside of the military scope.

Respirators that require a face seal, such as the General Service Respirator, currently provide the optimal solution to respiratory protection for military users. This does not preclude the continued assessment of respiratory system development nor the reassessment of the military requirement within the Ministry of Defence's routine capability planning.