Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to encourage more Combined Cadet Forces in academy and local authority schools.

As a result of the Cadet Expansion Programme – a joint Ministry of Defence and Department for Education initiative – we now have over 500 cadet units in schools, almost two thirds of which are in academies and local authority schools.

The priority for the programme, originally launched in 2012, has been to focus on state schools in areas of high deprivation and the majority of school cadet units are now in the state sector. There is now a further ambition within the programme to increase the number of cadets across all school cadet units to 60,000 by 2024.

Being in the cadets equips young people with unique skills and experiences which can help them in day to day life. Cadets are taught transferrable skills that can help with future aspirations and long-term career goals, such as relationship building, problem-solving and teamwork.