Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the implications of the Royal Navy, Royal Air Force and the Army having different medical discharge policies in relation to autism and Asperger's syndrome on the implementation of the Armed Forces Covenant's principle that armed forces personnel should face no disadvantage compared to other citizens in the provision of public and commercial services.

Medical discharge policy is delegated to the single Services to provide each branch of the Armed Forces the necessary flexibility to respond effectively to the unique and varying environments in which their people are employed. While this does mean variations between Services exist, all Service personnel across the three Services, be they serving or veteran, are able to challenge the nature of their discharge and, equally, are subject to timeline constraints in which to do so.

The delegation of medical discharge policy causes no disadvantage to our personnel (serving or veteran) in relation to other citizens and has no implications for our ongoing commitment to the implementation of the Armed Forces Covenant.