Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the 2025 Strategic Defence Review, what progress he has made in stepping up engagement with the Strategic Reserve, sustained through annual training and volunteer roles, as outlined in Recommendation 28.

The Ministry of Defence is starting a communications and engagement plan with those Service leavers who have an ongoing ex-Regular and Recall liability, as well as related audiences such as their families and employers.

This is taking forward the Strategic Defence Review recommendation to reconnect with the Strategic Reserve, who offer a deep pool of prior military skills and experience which could help provide strength in depth given heightened geopolitical instability and threats.

We wish to help relevant individuals clarify their recall liabilities and encourage them to update us with their latest skills and experience and interest in further service. We will provide more details in due course.

As the Minister for the Armed Forces and Chief of Defence Staff have trailed in recent Parliamentary Select Committee evidence sessions, we are planning to invite up to around 1,000 Strategic Reservists to join the wider UK Active Reserve and Regular Force participation in NATO’s Exercise STEADFAST DEFENDER in spring 2027. This will be on a voluntary basis and for short durations. We will provide more details as plans mature.