Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what targets his Department has for increasing diversity; and what progress has been made on meeting those targets in the last year.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) does not have targets for increasing diversity.

In 2012 the MOD published its Strategic Equality Objectives in accordance with the statutory requirements flowing from the Equality Act 2010 to promote equality. These objectives, including the advancement of equality of opportunity, were endorsed by the Defence Board to reflect the fact that the duty to promote equality sits squarely at the top of the Department.

In September 2013, the Permanent Secretary and Chief of the Defence Staff announced the establishment of a Defence Diversity and Inclusion Programme, with the aim of making a tangible and meaningful change in the MOD's approach to diversity and diversity outcomes.

The primary aim of the programme is to make the workforce more representative of society at all levels, and metrics will be used to measure success.

The MOD publishes a biannual breakdown of diversity statistics which contains analysis of all diversity categories for both civilian and Service Personnel. The most recent report, published on 29 May 2014, can be found at the following address: http://www.dasa.mod.uk/index.php/publications/personnel/combined/diversity-dashboard