Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to increase the Army's number of combat-ready qualified parachutists.

Defence regularly reviews the requirement for its airdrop capability and will continue to do so following the publication of the Integrated Review Refresh.

A number of steps are already being taken to increase the number of combat-ready qualified parachutists including using Army Parachute Jump Instructors to support the RAF's training delivery, the rollout of A400M Low-Level Parachute Capability, a short-term commercial contract solution for a military parachute training aircraft, and the procurement of a new military parachute system.