Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what (a) estimate he has made of the number of armed forces personnel who are currently self-isolating due to covid-19 and (b) assessment he has made of covid-19 isolation of armed forces personnel on the operational activity of the armed forces.

As at 1 July 2021, 5,200 Regular and Reservist Armed Forces personnel were reported as absent from work because of COVID-19 self-isolation.

Defence has successfully maintained its core and most important outputs throughout the pandemic, reacting with agility and flexibility to mitigate the risks posed by COVID-19. While the need to undertake self-isolation and other measures have had an effect, they have not adversely affected our key operations.