Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 19 May 2022 to Question 1525 on Armed Forces: Sexual Offences, how many serving personnel are on the Sex Offender Register as of 8 June 2022.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has made it absolutely clear there is no place for unacceptable behaviour in the Armed Forces. On 30 March this year the MOD published a Zero-Tolerance to Sexual Offending policy which introduced mandatory discharge from the Armed Forces for anyone convicted of a sexual offence, this includes anyone subject to notification requirements as set out in Part 2 of the Sexual Offences Act (SOA) 2003 (more widely recognised as the Sex Offenders Register). Prior to 30 March 2022, termination of Service was an option, but it was not mandatory.

As of 8 June 2022, a total of 10 Serving personnel are on the Sex Offender Register. This figure has been rounded to 10 to limit disclosure and ensure confidentiality, in-line with Departmental rounding policy. Please note that this figure is based on data which is not gathered for statistical purposes or subject to the same level of scrutiny as that applied to our Official Statistics.

Ministers are carefully considering further options for strengthening our Zero Tolerance policy taking legal advice.