Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the hon. Member for Blenau Gwent's oral contribution of 8 July 2019, Official Report, column 11, when the full-time trained strength target for the Army will be reached.

As I said to the hon. Member on 8 July, it is difficult to put an exact date on when the Army will reach its full trade trained strength. However, the Army have a series of initiatives in place aimed at improving both recruitment and retention. These are starting to yield benefits but ensuring the Army is at the appropriate size requires sustained effort and investment. However, most importantly the Army continues to meet all of its operational commitments that keep Britain safe.