Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the answer of 21 April 2026 to question 126811 on Armed Forces: Offences against Children, under what circumstances is service detention used.

The sentence in any given case is a matter for the Court (the Judge Advocate and Board sentencing together). They will apply any extant sentencing council guidelines and also the Judge Advocate General’s guidance on sentencing in the Court Martial in doing so.

Service detention is intended to combine punishment, discipline, and rehabilitation within the military system, normally through the Military Corrective Training Centre.

Circumstances where a Court might consider service detention rather than imprisonment might include lower-level neglect offences, inappropriate communications that fall short of more serious offending, or possession offences at the lower end of the sentencing scale.

Offences against children are treated extremely seriously and in many cases, imprisonment would be expected, especially where there are sexual offences, violence, exploitation, grooming, or indecent images involved.