Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the armed forces’ diversity, equality and inclusion initiatives.

Defence is dedicated to recruiting and retaining the best talent. In a competitive labour market, we must attract, recruit, and retain the best people drawn from the whole of the population.

We continue to implement the recommendations of the Haythornthwaite Review of Armed Forces Incentivisation to modernise our people system to attract and retain those who have a desire to serve under modernised terms which are right for them and their families. Failure to do so will compromise our ability to deliver defence outputs.