Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent steps he has taken with the Secretary of State for Education to increase the number of Combined Cadet Forces in state schools.

Through the joint Department for Education (DfE) and Ministry of Defence (MOD) Cadet Expansion Programme (CEP), over 250 new cadet units have opened in state schools, with priority given to less affluent areas. Prior to CEP, 75% of school units were in independent schools, with 25% in state schools. There are now over 500 cadet units in UK schools, and now more than 60% of these units are in the state sector.

Since 2021, DfE have been providing additional funding for state schools in England to help with the administrative support of Combined Cadet Force (CCF) contingents. This funding, which DfE has recently extended until the end of Academic Year 2023-24, directly supports School Staff Instructors who are vital for the sustainment of a school's CCF unit.

DfE and MOD are continuing to work on the Government's ambition to increase the number of cadets in schools to 60,000 by April 2024, ensuring that more children in state schools have the opportunities that have long been a feature of the independent sector.