Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what analysis he has undertaken of the defence sector’s future workforce requirements.

The Ministry of Defence has been working closely with Skills England and industry, through the Defence Industrial Joint Council, to understand skill gaps in the sector.

In August, in conjunction with Skills England, we published a Defence Sector Skills Needs Assessment, which identified that the workforce in the defence sector's priority occupations is estimated to grow by 53,000 workers between 2025 and 2035.

We are also developing a Defence Jobs Plan with ADS, which will articulate the skill challenges the sector faces and the steps that the Government and industry are putting in place to ensure the sector has the workforce it requires.