Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that membership of the Reserve Forces and Cadets Association continues to serve (a) reserves and cadets and (b) wider defence policy.

We greatly value the contribution of the Reserve Forces and Cadet Associations (RFCA) to Defence and we continue to engage with their volunteer membership. This is achieved through Ministerial and senior military attendance at events such as the Council of RFCAs' annual briefing, and the Annual General Meetings held by Associations. Such engagement ensures that we maintain links at the appropriate level of seniority, and I am confident that the Ministry of efenceD will maintain its current excellent relationship with the RFCAs long into the future.