Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment she has made of the effect of social class on promotion in the armed forces.

The Ministry of Defence has made no recent assessment of the effect of social class on promotion in the Armed Forces.

Armed Forces careers are built on merit, creating an environment where success is determined by potential, effort and talent and not by background. The skills, education and training an Armed Forces career provides allows people the opportunity to progress and prosper not just while they serve, but also once they transition back into civilian life.

With over 50,000 apprenticeships during this Parliament, the Ministry of Defence are the UK's largest apprenticeship provider. In addition, we commission our most talented soldiers, sailors and aircraftmen and women, provide university bursary programmes and we recently announced the STEM Graduate Inflow Scheme which will improve access to our technical graduate programme.