Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether reserve infantry soldiers will have to pass the Army's new In-Service Physical Employment Standards when it comes into effect as part of mandatory training obligations in order to be eligible for award of the Certificate of Efficiency and therefore training bounty.

Reserve infantry soldiers will need to meet the new In-Service Physical Employment Standards to be eligible for the Certificate of Efficiency from April 2019. Due to the nature of the Reserve commitment (e.g. time limitations) they will take a practical alternative version of the new Army Role Fitness Test (RFT). This has been developed to predict success at the RFT and is not a lower standard. Army Reserve personnel deploying on operations or attending specific training courses (which are yet to be defined), will take the full RFT.