Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether it is his policy to post armed forces personnel below the age of 18 on armed guard duty at military establishments.

Service personnel must be past their 17th birthday and appropriately trained before being employed on armed guarding duties. Where Service personnel (whether trainees, irrespective of their age, or those in productive service under the age of 18) are used as armed guards, an assessment of the risk involved is always undertaken.

Recruits in Phase 1 training are never used as armed guards.