Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Written Statement of 15 December 2020, HCWS652, on Unconscious bias training, what steps he has taken to phase out unconscious bias training in his Department.

Defence is continually looking at ways to build a fairer, more inclusive, and more effective workplace.

Last year, the Government Equalities Office commissioned a report into unconscious bias and diversity training. It concluded that the training was not achieving its intended aims and would be phased out. In response to this, the Ministry of Defence has phased out unconscious bias training within the Department.

To ensure we continue to build fairer and more effective workplaces the Diversity and Inclusion 2020 course has been replaced by the Inclusion in the Civil Service course. The Inclusion in the Civil Service course comprises of four modules (Equality, diversity, and inclusion in the Civil Service; Our inclusive workplace; Our customers; the legal framework) and has had the unconscious bias training elements removed.