Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to encourage the establishment of Combined Cadet Force units in state schools in (a) Havering and (b) England.

The Cadet Expansion Programme (CEP) was launched in 2012. It is delivered jointly between the Ministry of Defence and the Department for Education. Following a highly successful first phase of the CEP, which delivered 100 new cadet units in schools in England, the Government committed to a continuation of the programme to grow the total number of cadet units in schools to 500 by March 2020 and extended it across the UK, targeting state funded secondary schools.

The programme is nearing its successful completion and is on track to reach the 500 target. School Cadet Expansion Officers are employed in each region to promote the benefits of cadets and assist the schools in their application and preparations to establishing their cadet unit, once approved.

In Havering, Drapers Academy successfully established a school cadet unit in September 2013, but there have not been any other successful applications to set up new units in this area.